


Across the Cosmos

by Wrath66



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Dubious Consent, Dubious Morality, Eventual Romance, F/M, Suggestive Themes, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-10 13:38:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 96,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6958819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrath66/pseuds/Wrath66
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sephiroth is Shinra's Hero. The Silver Elite. The SOLDIER all others aspire to be. He manages every aspect of his life with military precision and discipline, and has no flaws. Or does he...?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a self-imposed prompt; continued out of an inability to stop writing it.  
> This fic was originally meant to be a PWP one-shot that got pushed into a multi-chapter drama fic by requests from FanFic.net reviewers, but the negative feedback from some FFVII fans has gotten too much to handle on FanFic, so I'm moving this fic over to Ao3 with the hope that the FFVII audience here will be somewhat less hateful.

"Why don't you just go ahead and admit that you're having sex with General Sephiroth?" sneered Jaila, almost toe-to-toe with Cosmos, too busy getting in the other female's face to realize that the aforementioned SOLDIER, as well as Genesis and Angeal, had just entered the room behind her, and were all looking in bemusement over at her and Cosmos.  
Cosmos saw Sephiroth lift an eyebrow at them, and couldn't help the tiny smirk that worked its way onto the edges of her mouth as a perfectly wicked idea popped into her mind.  
"Sir," she said, addressing Sephiroth with a small frown of bewilderment, "Why didn't you tell me we were having sex? I would have worn a shorter skirt."  
Genesis, who had just taken a mouthful of water, nearly spat it back out in Angeal's face as he gagged. Angeal was so stunned by Cosmos's words he didn't even thump his colleague on the back to help him, and Sephiroth's eyebrows shot up on his forehead, threatening to disappear into his hairline.  
Jaila whipped around, eyes wide, to see the General looking at both of them, and Cosmos had a moment to enjoy watching all the color drain out of the other woman's face.  
Cosmos waited, knowing that she was either about to be severely disciplined, along with Jaila, or Sephiroth was about to afford her a good laugh.  
The General sauntered over, looking calm, but she felt a chill sneak down her spine as he drew nearer, his cat-like green-blue eyes locked on her face.  
"My apologies," he said in his low, silky voice, and her heart tripped a few beats as her chest tightened, "If the thought had crossed my mind, I would have been sure to mention it. Perhaps tomorrow you should consider wearing one."  
She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling as Jaila lifted her head to stare between them with a mixture of shock and disbelief.  
"I'm afraid I don't own a skirt, sir," she replied to Sephiroth, working very hard to keep a straight face.  
Sephiroth eyed her for a moment, then gave the tiniest of smirks. "Buy one," he murmured, and with that turned to walk back towards Angeal and Genesis, the latter of whom was still gagging and spluttering.  
"Oh, and Miss Rielle," the General said, pausing halfway back to his colleagues and turning to look at her.  
"Yes, sir," she said, feeling a shock of surprise that he knew her name.  
"I would like to see both you and Miss Lyris in my office before you leave today."  
Cosmos felt her stomach sink, but nodded in unison with Jaila. "Yes, sir."  
Sephiroth turned away and strode out of the office, leaving Angeal and Genesis to follow. The moment they were out of sight, and the door had swung closed behind him, Jaila rounded on Cosmos, her expression furious.  
"How DARE you embarrass him like that?!" the woman hissed, almost spitting on Cosmos in her anger.  
"I wasn't the one making stupid accusations about his sex life," Cosmos retorted coolly, even as she felt a flush of embarrassment work its way through her. "If you want to be angry, Jaila, go do it privately. I've got work to do."  
She turned away, so Jaila couldn't see the guilt in her expression. She wasn't feeling guilty for Jaila, or really even for herself. She did, however, feel a mixture of guilt, anxiety, and embarrassment over what she had just done to Sephiroth. She had thought maybe he'd laugh it off, or even discipline her outright, but she now had the lurking sensation that-while he hadn't said anything at the moment-he would have a thing or two to say to her at the end of the day about her behavior... She was starting to regret her little stunt, but at least she'd gotten a bit of retaliation against Jaila. She was tired of having to deal with the woman's arrogance and cruelty, and this seemed to have done the trick in getting her off her back, because Jaila refused to look at or speak to her for the rest of the day, which suited Cosmos just fine.  
Right around 5 o'clock, as everyone was packing up and clocking out to leave, Cosmos closed down her station and walked over to where Jaila was angrily shoving things into her purse.  
"What?" snapped the woman when she spotted Cosmos lingering off to the side.  
"General Sephiroth asked for BOTH of us in his office," Cosmos reminded her quietly, hands clasped neatly in front of her to hold her bag as she waited for Jaila to finish closing up her own station.  
"Fine," snapped the woman, slamming the last of her items into her massive purse and swinging the bag over her shoulder, very narrowly avoiding hitting Cosmos with it.  
Together, they walked over to the elevators, but instead of hitting the descend button to go the ground floor to leave, once inside Jaila stabbed at the Level 9 button until the doors swung shut, and the lift began to rise. Neither of them spoke. Jaila stood silently fuming in her corner, and Cosmos kept a vague watch on the numbers as they ascended floors. When they reached the top, there was a soft ding, and a woman's cool voice announced, "Ninth Floor". They stepped off, and Jaila turned on her heel to stalk off down the hallway immediately to their right.  
Cosmos didn't question how the woman knew exactly where Sephiroth's office was, though she did glance briefly at the panel on the wall listing office numbers just to be sure she wasn't being misled. Within a couple of minutes, they had reached the end of the hallway, and stopped outside room 906. There were no windows in the wall to give them a view into the office, and no placard to indicate the office belonged to Sephiroth-though the other offices around them boasted metal nameplates. Jaila hesitated as Cosmos came up beside her, then seemed to gather her courage and reached forward to knock firmly on the door, three times.  
"Come in," called a male's voice from the other side.  
Jaila grasped the handle on the door and pushed it open, striding inside with her head up. Cosmos followed quietly, making sure to close the door behind them.  
Sephiroth sat behind a large oak desk, his eyes on the mass of papers in front of him. He held a pen in his left hand, and was carefully sifting through files with the other, organizing the mess on his desk. Without looking up at them, he gestured with his pen hand towards the one chair seated in front of his desk.  
"Sit," he instructed.  
Cosmos and Jaila exchanged a look. Jaila narrowed her eyes and purposefully strode forward to take the seat before Cosmos could, not that Cosmos would have wanted it anyway. It looked too much like an interrogation room with the setup the way it was. The one light in Sephiroth's office was placed directly over the chair in which Jaila now sat, and it was only after she'd settled herself that the red headed female seemed to realize this, and began to shift nervously in her spot. Cosmos stood just behind her to the left, head slightly bowed.  
Sephiroth took a few more minutes to organize his papers, not bothering to hurry himself for their sake, and Cosmos began to wonder after a while if he was deliberately letting the tension build. She wouldn't put it past him, really. Sephiroth was legendary at his strategic capabilities, and it was because EVERYTHING was a strategy to him. Even this.  
After a very tense and otherwise quiet four minutes-save the rustling of papers as the General rearranged them-he finally capped his pen and set it aside before turning his piercing blue-green gaze on both of them. His eyes slid first over Jaila, who swallowed hard but held his gaze, to Cosmos, who didn't quite manage it, and had to look down almost immediately.  
"Miss Lyris," Sephiroth address Jaila first, leaning back in the large leather chair he sat in, linking his fingers neatly in front of him. "Would you care to explain to me just what it was that led you and Miss Rielle to your discussion earlier regarding my personal life?"  
Jaila swallowed again, and Cosmos could see the woman's hands beginning to shake.  
"I, uh..." Jaila stammered, very clearly unsettled. "It was...just..."  
"Just?" prompted Sephiroth calmly, raising both eyebrows.  
"A...rumor..." Jaila mumbled, dropping her gaze.  
"A rumor," repeated Sephiroth slowly, as though he had never used the word before. "And what, Miss Lyris, was that rumor, exactly?"  
If Jaila had been pale before, she was downright white now.  
"That...um...that Cosmos and...and you, sir...were..."  
Cosmos almost felt sorry for Jaila as she watched the woman stumble horribly over her words, and very nearly wanted to help, but she got the feeling Sephiroth would not allow it. And the General certainly made no effort to help Jaila form her thoughts as he waited, silent and unblinking, behind his desk, reminding Cosmos far too closely of the jungle cats she had once seen in a documentary. It was like he was stalking them, just waiting for them to mess up, so he could lunge.  
"The rumor, sir," said Jaila shakily after clearing her throat, "Was that...you and...Cosmos...were, uh...s-sleeping...together..."  
"I see," murmured Sephiroth thoughtfully, tilting his head slightly so his silvery hair fell over his shoulder, shimmering like mist in the dim light cast from overhead.  
He now turned his too intense gaze on Cosmos, who forced herself to meet it as steadily as she could, even when her hands began to tremble.  
"And where did this rumor come from, Miss Rielle?" he inquired lightly.  
"I'm not sure, sir," she admitted in a quiet voice, feeling her throat close slightly.  
"It must have come from somewhere," he prompted idly. "Have you ever given any indication to your coworkers that you and I shared anything other than a professional relationship?"  
"No, sir," she murmured, shaking her head.  
"Then where could it have come from, I wonder," he mused, his eyes sliding back to Jaila, who was staring fixedly at the ground now, her lips drawn into a thing line. "Miss Lyris?"  
She jumped as he said her name.  
"Perhaps you have an inkling as to where this rumor may have started?" he prompted her coolly.  
She glanced in terror up at him, then over at Cosmos, and away again. "I don't know, sir," she barely managed to whisper.  
"Hmm..."  
Cosmos felt a chill go down her spine at the tone of Sephiroth's voice, and the way his eyes narrowed every so slightly as he watched Jaila over his linked fingers. It wasn't like he was looking at a person. More like he was contemplating some trapped thing he'd found stuck in a cage and was wondering what to do with it... It made her slightly ill seeing that look on his face, and thinking he might turn it on her next.  
"I would like you to take the next couple of days off, Miss Lyris," he said at last, his voice soft, without inflection. "You need not come in tomorrow or the following day. You may return to work on the third day. Am I clear?"  
Jaila was so terrified she could only nod mutely.  
"You may go," he dismissed her.  
She nodded again, getting shakily to her feet, and after making a hasty bow towards him, headed for the door without looking back. Cosmos hesitated, then made to follow, but...  
"Miss Rielle," Sephiroth called softly before she could take two steps. She glanced back at him as the door shut firmly behind Jaila, and felt her stomach sink when he nodded towards the now vacant chair. "Take a seat, please."  
Gods, she wanted to sink through the floor and disappear. But when it didn't happen, she slowly walked towards the chair, and lowered herself into it, keeping her back straight, and her eyes focused on a spot in the middle of Sephiroth's desk, so she didn't have to look directly at him.  
He was quiet for a long moment, watching her thoughtfully over the top of his interlinked fingers, and in that time her mind concocted at least ten different scenarios, all ending with her packing up her desk and finding a new job.  
After a few more moments of silence, Sephiroth seemed to find his train of thought. "I think you know where this rumor started, Miss Rielle," he murmured coolly, "And I would appreciate it if you would be honest with me."  
"Yes, sir," she murmured, still unable to look at him.  
"So," he said, "Where did it start?"  
She contemplated her answer as carefully as she could before she gave it, and even as she opened her mouth she wasn't certain it would come out the way she hoped. Her mind was almost a total blank.  
"Jaila and I don't get along very well," she began slowly.  
"I can see that," Sephiroth said, his tone colored with amusement. "You mean to tell me she began this rumor out of spite, perhaps? Or jealousy?"  
She nodded. "For the past...week, I guess, she's been making those sorts of accusations...that you and I have..." She swallowed, unable to find the words, and gave a lame shrug of her shoulder. "Well, she...has been spreading the rumor to other coworkers."  
"She seems to think it is more than a rumor," Sephiroth noted softly, tilting his head to eye her critically. "She seemed very adamant about that when I walked in, to make such an accusation that you and I were having sex."  
She had never thought just hearing the word sex would be enough to make her blush as deeply as she did now. Just the way he murmured it, or maybe it was the sound of his voice as he said it, made her insides twist, and her toes curled in her shoes as she sat there, feeling a sudden warmth steal up into her face before receding down into a spot just below her gut, where it tightened.  
"I'm not sure why she believes it, sir," she mumbled, refusing to look at him.  
"Perhaps she attributes your success in the workplace to something other than what others would see as your work ethic," he suggested. "Perhaps she would rather believe you are earning your reputation in a much more...lucrative way..."  
The insinuation of his words only increased the heat in her gut, and she fought the urge to shift her legs together to suppress it.  
"I'm not sure, sir," she repeated in a small voice.  
"Hmm..." There again, that thoughtful little hum.  
It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end. At this point, she was just praying he would give her unpaid leave and call it a day, or even fire her, if that's what he was planning, so she could leave. She didn't know if she could take any more time sitting in his office like this... There was something about it that made her uneasy, and made her mind wander to places it absolutely shouldn't, given the circumstances.  
She wasn't going to deny she was attracted to Sephiroth, in spite of everything, and she had-on more than one occasion-caught herself daydreaming about the General if he happened to walk by or if she glimpsed him or heard his name at some point during the day. But she had never let it interfere with her work or anything else, and it was only when she was safely at home, away from work and her colleagues, that she dared take those daydreams to the deeper, darker places in her mind. Thinking about it now made her want to curl up in a ball and shrivel away into nothing, because-though she knew it couldn't be possible-she felt as though Sephiroth could easily see or hear every thought in her mind.  
There was just something in his stare, and his quiet confidence that made it seem so plausible, even when by all rights it wasn't.  
"Did you make that little joke of yours to get back at Miss Lyris, Miss Rielle?" he asked her then, his voice even lower than before.  
"Yes, sir," she murmured, tightening her fingers in the straps of her bag.  
"And, do you think you achieved the desired reaction?" he inquired.  
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yes, sir."  
"Are you proud of that, Miss Rielle?"  
"No, sir," she mumbled.  
"No?" he asked, and she glanced up to see him raising an eyebrow at her; his expression otherwise blank. "After you went to such lengths, in front of your colleagues and mine, to make sure you had properly embarrassed her, you aren't proud you got what you wanted?"  
Her lips felt dry and her tongue darted out briefly to moisten her lower lip. She thought she saw his eyes flicker down for the briefest moment, but then he was staring straight into her face and she was sure she'd imagined it.  
"No, sir," she murmured.  
He eyed her for a moment, then unlaced his hands to crook a finger at her.  
Shakily, she rose from her seat, and began to walk towards the desk, but stopped when he shook his head and pointed instead to a spot just beside him, behind the desk.  
She felt her throat close, and her stomach dissolved, but she forced her feet forward, even as her heart kickstarted in her chest until she felt like she couldn't breathe.  
"Put your bag down," he instructed quietly when she'd rounded the desk to stand just out of arm's reach of him.  
She did as he instructed and gingerly placed the bag to the side, leaning it against his desk.  
"Stand here," he murmured, pointing to the spot almost directly beside his chair.  
She hesitated, and thought about disobeying, but then his eyes locked on her face, and she felt herself taking those two steps forward to stand within inches of him, her heart racing so fast she could hear the blood pounding in her ears. She couldn't tell if she was going to faint or not, but hoped if she was that it would happen soon because the longer she stood there in front of him, the weaker she felt, and the more it seemed like she was going to drown in his eyes.  
There were beautiful, turquoise, with incredibly long, thick black lashes, but eerie with their cat-like pupils and too-bright irises. They saw too much.  
Sephiroth watched with those unusual eyes for a long moment, then pushed his chair back from his desk and rose to his feet, towering to his full height over her.  
Her heart thudded in her chest, leaving her breathless, as he came within centimeters of touching her, their chests almost brushing he was so close. She could feel the heat radiating off of him in waves, and felt like she might just suffocate from it.  
He shifted, a subtle movement that was both a step forward and to the side, so when she turned to keep him in front of her, her back hit the wall behind his desk, and he trapped her there, stepping closer to keep that almost infinitesimal space between them. He made no move to touch her, but she was already scarcely breathing just from having him so painfully close. She had dropped her gaze from his, and was now focused on the center of his chest, which was bare underneath the layers of leather and steel he wore.  
Unlike other men with his build, his chest was smooth shaven, and the color of marble, almost a too-white color that didn't seem to fit with a human body. But his body didn't seem at all human as he stood over her. He was too tall, too broad, too...everything. And she couldn't breathe with him so close.  
"I wonder," he murmured then, and her heart skipped a beat, "What kind of rumors do you suppose Miss Lyris will invent now, knowing I kept you later than her...?"  
She didn't answer. What could she say?  
"I noticed, when I saw you and Miss Lyris having your little disagreement, that you didn't make any efforts to completely deny that you and I were intimately involved," he commented lightly, as though they were discussing nothing more serious than the weather. As though he weren't crowding her against the wall. "Why is that? Perhaps the idea wasn't so abhorrent to you? Maybe, it was even appealing?"  
She wanted to shake her head, but she couldn't find the right muscles, and merely continued to stand there mutely, trembling, her breathing becoming steadily more erratic.  
"Perhaps the idea Miss Lyris was spreading to the rest of your coworkers somehow stuck itself in your mind," he continued softly, "Followed you home from work...accompanied you on the train...all the way back into your bed..."  
She swallowed hard, her gut tightening as the heat that was already lingering their expanded. His words were putting images into her head she didn't know if she wanted there at all. Things she would never repeat to another living person. She saw him, with that smooth, fair chest, sprawled back in her bed, his long silvery hair pooling around him, with his eerily beautiful eyes glinting in the darkness as he watched her.  
Her eyes lowered further, focused on his hands. Long-fingered, and clad in the same black leather he favored for the rest of his attire. Gods, what he could do with those hands... She closed her eyes, trying to block out her own fantasy, but it didn't help. Instead, behind her dark eyelids, she saw images of his lithe, muscular form tangled in the sheets, his low, soft voice murmuring through the darkness.  
She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, trying to fend off the images and the sounds his words were conjuring, and opened her eyes as she heard him shift again. She went rigid as his gloved hands came into her view, settling on either side of her head against the wall as he leaned himself closer to her, until his chest was close she could have leaned forward a few scant centimeters and kissed it. What would he taste like, she wondered before she could stop the thought. She imagined him tasting like sin-dark, and heavy-sweat, and leather.  
He bent down over her, sliding his left hand over from the wall until he could hook his index finger under her chin and coax her face up to look at his as his hair slid around them in a silvery curtain, closing them off from everything else. His eyes fairly burned as he looked down at her, and yet his face was still somehow relaxed; distant.  
"I wonder, what kind of fantasies did that rumor plant in your mind?" he asked softly, brushing his thumb slowly across her lower lip, sending a shiver down the entire length of her spine until her toes curled. "And I know it did... Did you perhaps not think I saw the way you would look at me when you thought I wasn't paying attention? Perhaps, you believed there was no harm in fantasizing, believing I couldn't possibly know how your eyes follow me anytime I'm nearby? But I do know..." His voice dropped an octave, "It is my job to know, as I am sure you are well aware. Everything that goes on around me, even the slightest incident, is taken note of... Even you."  
His thumb brushed back and forth slowly, intimately, his eyes boring into hers.  
"The way your eyes darken just a fraction when you hear my name," he murmured softly, "The way you look at me from under your eyelashes when I have my back turned. Even the way you squirm in your seat when you hear me speaking... Everything..." He enunciated the word with deliberate slowness. "Everything you do, even without thinking, I think about... Perhaps you weren't even aware today, that the entire time I was speaking to you and Miss Lyris earlier, you couldn't take your eyes off of my mouth. You probably didn't notice the lust in your eyes as you looked... I did..."  
She shivered as he paused with the pad of his thumb resting against the seam of her lips, his gaze intent on hers. She hadn't noticed...she hadn't noticed any of those things...because she'd been too busy noticing him. Her mistake, however, was to think he hadn't been noticing her. He was right, it was his job to know. His job to know everything. He was a SOLDIER. The best SOLDIER. He was the best for a reason...  
"Many women, and men, have looked at me the way you have," he mused, tilting his head to examine her face, "None of them have so calmly accepted a rumor that they are somehow involved with me. They all deny it, adamantly, red faced and humiliated as they do so. You did not... You even tried to pull me in to your little game... That was a surprise. I wasn't expecting such a brazen act from such a quiet little girl... It makes me wonder..."  
He bent his head towards hers, until their lips were no more than a breath apart, and she could feel the warmth of his skin just a heartbeat from hers.  
"What other brazen things would you do, if you were permitted?" he breathed in a voice that was barely above a whisper.  
She didn't speak. She couldn't even think. Everything in her was frozen, locked up in a kind of stunned disbelief as she felt him trail his lips in the ghost of a kiss over hers. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, and she could hear the blood rushing in her ears.  
His lips brushed hers again, his blue-green cat's eyes searing as they stared into hers.  
And then he was pulling away, leaving her slumped against the wall as he resumed his seat behind the desk.  
She exhaled shakily, not entirely sure what had just happened. Her mind was in a daze. Hadn't he been about to kiss her?  
"Take a couple of days off," he told her in his usual, calm voice, not looking up as he drew a couple of files towards him and opened his pen to get to work. "Paid leave. I'll expect you back to work on Thursday."  
She tried to get her mind to process what was happening, but could only come up with a blank. Had she imagined the whole thing? Disoriented and shaky, she moved off of the wall to retrieve her bag from beside his desk, trying to even out her breathing and steady her heart rate.  
"If there are any more instances like this with Miss Lyris, one of you will be relocated to another office," he informed her as she made her way towards the door. "Is that clear?"  
She paused to glance back at him. He was still looking down at his desk.  
"Yes, sir," she murmured, nodding her head, and turned for the door.  
"Miss Rielle."  
She stopped again, her hand on the doorhandle, and turned to look over her shoulder at him. He was still looking down at his desk, but had one hand out, extending a sheet of paper towards her.  
Still wobbling a little on her rubbery legs, she walked back over to his desk, and reached out with a slightly shaky hand to take it. The moment her fingers closed over the piece of paper, his hand reached out to shackle her wrist, jerking her forward so she nearly fell across his desk. She caught herself with her free hand, gasping slightly, and when she looked up, his face was just a scant inch or two from hers, and that searing look was back in his eyes.  
Her heart tripped a beat, and her breath left her in a rush as his fingers tightened a fraction on her wrist as he kept her there.  
He tilted his head so his mouth pressed just barely to the corner of her lips, and murmured, "I expect you'll wear that skirt for me when you come back to work..."  
His breath was hot against her skin, and even after he'd pulled back and released her wrist, she felt it like a brand against her cheek as she stumbled back from his desk, clutching the paper and her purse in her hands.  
"You're dismissed," he told her, back to scanning the documents on his desk, looking as calm and unaffected as he always did.  
She nodded shakily, and turned to leave. He did not stop her this time, and she managed to exit his office and make it to the elevator, practically collapsing against the inside walls as her legs threatened to give out from underneath her. She hit the ground floor button with a little difficulty, her breathing irregular, her stomach still bunched up in knots. Between her legs, there was an unmistakeable dampness, and she wrapped her arms around herself as the memories of just a few minutes ago in Sephiroth's office finally seemed to crash in on her. She hadn't imagined it, as wild and surreal as it had seemed. That had just happened...  
He had been that close. Said those things... Her arms tightened, and her fingernails dug into her forearms. He wanted her to wear a skirt when she came back to work...  
She breathed hard and fast, her entire body shaking as she finally reached the ground floor and hurried out through the lobby. She practically ran to the station, beating the train and having to collapse back against a column to catch her breath. Now with a little distance between her and the office, everything that had happened was taking on a dream-like quality, until she could almost convince herself she'd hallucinated the whole thing. But the heat on her lips and around her wrist where his hand had held her told a different story, and she rubbed absently over her lower lip, following the trail his thumb had made.  
Her fingers tightened, and the paper in her hand crunched. She looked down at it, for the first time really realizing it was there, and flipped it over to see what was on it. Nothing. She flipped it back over to the other side, frowning. Still nothing. The paper was blank... He'd tricked her.  
Her heart was still racing when the train arrived and she staggered onto the mostly empty end car, sinking gratefully into a seat and clutching her purse to her chest, burying her face in her arms.  
She couldn't believe it...she knew it had happened, but she couldn't believe it. What had just happened...? Had he been trying to seduce her...? But if that was his goal, why hadn't he kissed her? He'd barely touched her, and never anywhere intimate, unless you counted lips and wrists as being intimate, but his touch had only been brief, almost nonexistent. So what had just happened? What had he been trying to do...? And why did he want her to wear a skirt when she came back?  
The only reason she could think of was totally ludicrous... Sephiroth...Sephiroth wouldn't ever actually...have sex with her...? In the office? No...no, there had to be another reason... This was just too surreal...  
She buried her face further in her arms, exhaling slowly, shakily, her mind racing. She would just go home, go to sleep, and spend the next two days forgetting this had ever happened...


	2. Chapter 2

The next two days at home were slow, but gave her a much needed rest from work. Plus, the longer she was at home, the easier it seemed to shrug off the events that had taken place in Sephiroth's office. It started to feel like a dream, even less than a memory, and she soon began to convince herself that she had overreacted to the whole thing. Whatever had happened in the office--and she was already a little hazy on the finer details--had been a product of her very overactive imagination. That was all. At least, that's what she tried to tell herself, and it usually worked. Though there were those rare occasions, like when she was in the shower, or alone in her bed in the dead of night, when she could feel Sephiroth's body crowding closer to hers, and his hot breath against her skin made her squirm. 

To add to that, there were small, smudge-like bruises on her wrist where he had grabbed her the final time before she'd left, and though within two days they had faded to something more like a dirt smudge or a blemish than a bruise, she always felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle every time she saw them. The first day at home was more or less a sleep recovery day. She spent the majority of the day in bed, or wandering around the house in her pajamas, making breakfast, folding laundry, and organizing a shopping list to take care of the next day before zoning out in front of the TV. 

The next day she got up early, around 7:00, and headed out into town to make good on her shopping. She chose to hit the grocery store last, not wanting the food to spoil while she wandered. She took her time, walking in and out of different shops, saying hi to the store keepers she knew, and checking out the latest gossip near Marcello's news stall. 

"Some say they think another calamity might show up any day," he chatted away aimlessly while she browsed his collection of magazines. "A lot of the odd ones out here are preaching about the end times being upon us."

“The end times are always upon us as far as they're concerned," she teased, throwing him a small smile, and he chuckled, stroking his full, gray beard. 

"By the way, Cos," he said, looking shrewdly at her now, "Why aren't you working? I thought you said that boss of yours worked you so hard you couldn't see straight."

"I got a couple of days off," she said evasively, even as her insides clenched, and she didn't look the store clerk directly in the eyes. 

"Uh-huh," he said, and she knew he wasn't convinced. 

He didn't say anything else, though, and she continued to browse, hoping he'd let the subject go.

"It's a man isn't it?" he asked, and she stiffened.

"Sorry?" she said, glancing at him. 

"Your boss," he explained, and his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners and she could tell he was smiling behind his beard, "He's a man, isn't he?"

"Oh...no, she's not," she said, frowning and turning back to an animal magazine boasting a large picture of a bright-eyed puppy. 

"Hmmm," Marcello sounded thoughtful, but thankfully let the subject go, and instead moved onto one even less thrilling. "You should find yourself a good lad, though, Cos. You're always alone."

"I prefer it," she said, cutting him a look. "Besides, I'm so busy with work I wouldn't have time for a steady relationship, and I'm not into flings. And there are no guys I know that would be willing to put up with me."

"You'll find someone," Marcello said, and she could tell he thought he was reassuring her. 

She didn't need his reassurance. She honestly didn't think any man that she knew currently was anything like what she looked for in a partner. And she wanted a partner. Not a dictator. She wanted someone she could stand on even footing with. They would both cook, clean, fix up the house, whatever needed doing... She didn't want a Yes-man and she didn't want a cave-man. She just wanted...a man. But all the "men" she knew amounted to adolescent nuisances as far as she was concerned. All the men in her office were always making lewd jokes or other unsavory comments, and a few had given her looks that just made her skin crawl, even though they didn't act on it. Men generally made a point to steer clear of her, and she was grateful for it. 

She didn't need the trouble of dealing with someone whose only goal was to get into her bed for a night and brag about it later. 

In fact, she only knew one person that could potentially amount to someone worth being with, but she had the feeling Cloud Strife had other things on his mind than a relationship, and she wasn't all that attracted to him anyway. He was cute, he was sweet, he was admirable, but he made her think more of a younger brother than a potential date, though she knew several of her female coworkers were extremely smitten with the young and upcoming cadet. 

She plucked a magazine from the pile and handed it to Marcello so he could ring it up while she fished around in her purse for her wallet. 

"You know," the clerk said as he took very special care to enter the bar code on the back of her magazine into his register, his eyes searching her face, "I know a couple of young lads--good boys, really--who might be interesting to you. Vraden lives a couple blocks away--he's the mechanic in town. Good lad, strong."

Cosmos nodded without really hearing him and took her magazine when he handed it back. She handed him a few bills and waited as he plugged the numbers into his register to get her change, noticing he took more time than was necessary.

"Larez is also a decent boy," he went on meaningfully, and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. 

"When I want a man, I'll go get one," she told him firmly, meeting his gaze head on. 

He frowned, his beard twitching with the movement, then dug out her change and handed it to her, along with her receipt.

"Take care of yourself, Cos," he said as she turned to leave.

"You, too," she returned, and strode off before he could think of any more potential suitors for her. 

She knew Marcello meant well, but she got tired of being haggled about finding a good match. He wasn't the only one in town to do it, and it got tiring listening to him, as well as the couple of ladies that ran the hair and nail boutique, AND several others all hassling her about it. Just this morning, leaving her house, her elderly neighbor had looked up to see her and flashed her a little grin. 

"Still no night time visitors?" she'd asked, seeing how early Cosmos was leaving. 

Cosmos hadn't answered, and just walked away. 

She didn't understand why people thought it was absolutely necessary to have a boyfriend or a fiancé at her age. It wasn't like she was middle aged. She was 26. She had plenty of time to work on finding a partner if she wanted. And, currently, she didn't. No one had so much as caught her eye in the past four years, and she had the feeling that wasn't about to change.

She paused then, having glanced around at a small department store she was passing, and froze, mid-step, as she spotted something on one of the mannequins in the window. Something that made her mind rewind to just a little over 24 hours ago, in a dimly lit office with Sephiroth. A voice spoke in the back of her mind, but she heard it almost as though someone were breathing it in her ear. 

{"I expect you'll wear that skirt for me when you come back to work..."}

She stared at the mannequin, which was posed ridiculously in the window, adorned in a billowing, purple blouse, and a skin tight black skirt that rode high on its stick-thin thighs. 

She wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't for the tiny silver chain that was slung across the mannequin's hips, and the small, round, blue and green gem that glinted as it hung from the chain. It was almost the exact color of Sephiroth's eyes. 

Her heart thudded in her chest, and her mouth felt suddenly dry. She knew she should walk away, and put the very idea of the skirt out of her mind, but before she could stop herself her feet were moving forward, and then she heard the quiet tinkling of the bell overhead as she walked through the door.

The young clerk behind the counter--who couldn't be older than Cosmos--looked up from her phone and beamed.

"Hello," she called, cheerfully, stowing her phone in her apron and walking around the counter. "Can I help you find anything today?

"Um..." Cosmos blinked, feeling disoriented. She still couldn't understand why she had walked into the shop. Then she glanced towards the window, and the mannequin's skirt caught her eye again. "The skirt on that mannequin..."

The girl looked over curiously, and then smiled brightly.

"Of course," she chirped, and motioned for Cosmos to follow her, "That's a new arrival, actually. Just got it in a couple of days ago and put them out on the floor yesterday."

Cosmos trailed after her in a slight daze, feeling her heart racing as memories began to surface in her mind; memories she thought she had convinced herself weren't real. 

"Here we are," the girl announced, coming to a halt and gesturing towards a rack on the back wall, where duplicates of the same skirt in various sizes hung prettily on silver hangers. "The fitting room is just there, so if you'd like to try one on, go right ahead. If you need any more help, my name is Layla."

Cosmos nodded and managed a small smile to the girl before the clerk bounced off towards the front of the store again. Once she was alone, she turned her attention back to the skirts, which hung innocently enough on the wall, but somehow made her insides want to shrivel up and vanish. 

Her throat was very dry now, and she was having a hard time looking away from the skirts. That blue-green jewel dangling from each and every one of them seemed to become an eye, staring back at her, daring her to follow the instructions still echoing in the back of her mind. 

She reached out, almost hesitantly, to finger the material. It was smooth, and she could tell it without even trying it on that it would fit against every single curve of her body. She could envision herself wearing it with her nicest pair of heels, the pair she only wore for special occasions. Black, with the stiletto heel, four inches high with an ankle strap. The ones that made heads turn whenever she walked by in them. The gem at her hip bouncing and sparkling with every step...

She shivered and drew her hand back abruptly, as though burned. She didn't want to think of how she'd look in the skirt, or how people would look at her. Already, she could envision Jaila's haughty sneer, and the covert looks thrown to her by both male and female coworkers alike. The guys would smirk and wink, she was certain. The women would frown, turn up their noses, and all other manner of other things. They'd think Jaila's 'rumors' were true after all...that she and Sephiroth were...

And Sephiroth...she didn't even have to imagine the look in his eyes if she were to walk into his office wearing it. She knew just how he would look at her. His eyes burning, too-intense...

Her stomach flipped and turned itself in knots. A low heat began to pulse in her core and turned to liquid, pooling between her thighs. Gods, just thinking about him was turning her on; in the middle of a department store, no less. She needed to leave, now. Put herself away from the temptation staring at her from the store wall before she let it drag her in. 

But she couldn't quite find the right muscles to get her legs to move her away from the display, and against her better judgment she reached out again to trail a finger down the line of one of the dark skirts. He had wanted her to wear it...but why...? Why would he ask it of her...? 

The only reasonable explanation was to have sex with her in it, but...there was no possible way... So why...?

She eyed the article of clothing for a long moment, then heaved a sigh and stepped back towards the rack, beginning to comb her fingers across the tops of the hangers, snatching up tags to check sizes before moving on to the next one. She found what she was looking for close to the back of the rack and gingerly slid the hanger off of the metal rail to hold the skirt in front of her for inspection. Black, like the rest, with that thin silver chain and blue-green bauble. 

It was gorgeous, she had to admit it, even if she weren't thinking of Sephiroth's words... 

"Might as well," she muttered, and walked off towards the fitting room. She almost felt paranoid as she slipped into one of the small changing rooms and bolted the door behind her. She almost got the sense of being watched, but knew there was no possible way that she could be... 

Hurriedly, she set down her purse and the skirt, then slipped out of her jeans. She unclipped the skirt from its hanger, and slid it on. It hugged her like a glove, and as she settled it comfortably around her hips and turned to analyze herself in the mirror, she felt her stomach lurch. She had known the skirt was gorgeous, and had half hoped it would look terrible on her. It didn't. In fact, it was the exact opposite. It looked fantastic. 

The lycra molded to her body, almost as if it had been custom made for her, showing off the curve of her butt and hips beautifully. She didn't need her high heels on to know if she DID have them on, she'd be killer. The skirt rode up on her thighs and made her legs look even longer than they actually were. It was so comfortable she didn't want to take it off, but knew there was no way in hell she could reasonably buy it. Where would she wear it? Not to work, that was for sure. 

She wouldn't wear it anywhere else because the last thing she needed was some guy panting after her on the train or in the marketplace. Even as she convinced herself not to buy it, she was fingering the price tag. It was expensive. 

She hesitated, then dug in her purse for her wallet. She checked her cash, and exhaled a sigh that was both relieved and disappointed. Too expensive for her to afford. It was just as well. The last thing she needed was to talk herself into buying the skirt. She could still picture all the trouble it would get her into. 

Working very hard not to look at herself in the mirror, or picture the way Sephiroth's eyes would look if he saw it on her, she shimmied out of the skirt and rehung it before slipping back into her comfortable jeans. She exited the fitting room, hung up the skirt, and purposefully strode away from it before she could second-guess herself and put the charge on her credit card. 

"Have a nice day," the clerk called to her as she was walking out the door. 

She nodded absently back at the girl, and hurried off down the street. Every step away from the store gave her more room to breathe, and be proud of herself, but it also burned the picture of the skirt and the way it had looked on her all the more deeply into her brain, until she was back in front of her house and realized she hadn't gone grocery shopping. 

Groaning, she decided to put off getting groceries until later. It wasn't like she needed the food today and she was not about to go walking past that boutique again. She knew if she saw the skirt again, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from buying it. Pushing open her front door, she dropped her purse just inside and leaned back against the door as she bolted it. She was so tired for some reason, and it wasn't even 1 o'clock in the afternoon. 

She dropped her keys on the side table, trudged up the stairs, and locked herself in the bathroom, resigning herself to a shower to pass the time. She turned on the water full blast, and let it warm while she shrugged out of her clothes. She let her jeans and shirt drop to the floor, and looked at herself in the mirror as she stood there in only her bra and panties. They didn't match. She never bothered matching them. Who was going to see them other than her?

What if Sephiroth saw them, a little voice nagged in the back of her mind, a quiet, goading voice. She shook her head abruptly, trying to clear it, but the voice was insistent. She had that matching black bra and pantie set she'd bought months ago 'for a special occasion' that she had never really expected to happen. The bra was black cotton, with little lace edges, and the panties were identical, just with more lace, and they rode low on her hips. She'd stared at herself in the mirror for twenty minutes the last time she'd worn them together, because they had made her look and feel incredibly sexy. But, of course, she'd had no one to wear them for, and didn't feel like using them for anything else. But...

She exited the bathroom, striding down the hall to her bedroom in just her panties and bra, and headed straight for her dresser. She yanked open the top left drawer, which housed the black bra and panties, and a book she liked to use to spur her imagination on the lonely nights. She pushed the book aside and grabbed the underwear and closed the drawer, then hesitated before marching over to her bedside table and crouching down to open the bottom drawer. It only held two things. A small black bag that housed a vibrator and a 'life-like' dildo she owned, and a small bottle of lubricant that had been advertised to smell like roses, but smelled more like mulch and spice. 

She hesitated with her hand halfway into the drawer, thinking. She knew she needed some kind of release, but every time she thought about giving herself that release, all she could see in her mind's eye was Sephiroth. Gods, she couldn't really be thinking about getting off on thoughts of him, could she? His eyes flashed in front of her mental vision, and the resulting dampness between her legs gave her the answer. Yes, yes she could. And she was. 

She snatched up the bag and the lubricant, and retreated to the bathroom. Once inside, she closed and bolted the door firmly, then set the bag on the edge of the tub before stripping out of her current underwear and slipping on the black number. The room had filled with steam by now, but she could still make out her image in the slightly fogged up mirror. She looked just as good as she remembered the first time putting the lingerie on, and had to take a few minutes to admire herself before turning away from the mirror and taking a breath. 

Closing her eyes, she tried to envision if Sephiroth were there with her, and just the thought produced a rush of heat and wetness between her legs, and her core throbbed in anticipation. She pressed her thighs together, exhaling sharply, and lifted her hands to slide them slowly across her stomach, trying to imagine they were his. She wished she had gloves to make it more realistic, but settled for pretending he had taken them off; that her fingertips were his as she ghosted them across her waist and up to her breasts, cupping them through the cotton of her bra. 

Her nipples were already tight, and she pushed her fingers under the cups to massage them slowly, dragging her nails across the tips until she moaned softly, her hips already undulating thoughtlessly, her thighs putting pressure on her clit as she squeezed them together. 

She tried to imagine his voice in her ear, remembering his hot breath against her cheek and lips. His unnatural blue-green eyes staring avidly down at her from his impressive height. She snaked her hands around behind her to the clip of her bra. She wondered if he would actually unclip it, or just tear the article of clothing right off of her, not caring whether he destroyed it or not. The thought of him rough and commanding made her even wetter, and she drew her lower lip between her teeth as she undid the clip and let the bra fall down her arms onto the floor, exposing her breasts to the warm heat of the bathroom. 

She cupped her breasts, rubbing her thumbs slowly over the tightened buds of her nipples, letting her head fall back, envisioning the General standing over her, his silvery hair falling around them in a long curtain as he played with her body; his eyes searing. She dropped her hands to her hips, hooking her fingers in the elastic waistband of her panties, and dragged them down her legs, keeping her eyes closed. It was harder to pretend that Sephiroth would do this part, so she pictured him standing over her, unmoving, watching her undress, his black leather pants becoming tight around the groin as he became hard for her. 

She stepped into the shower, imagining him following her in, totally naked. The hot water teased her nipples and ran down her back and ass as she turned to face the wall, leaning her hands forward on it, wishing the tile were warmer, more fleshlike, so she could pretend it was the General's chest. She rubbed her legs together anxiously, and opened her eyes at last so she could locate the little bag that held the vibrator and dildo. She grabbed it from the side of the tub and unzipped it. She set the vibrator on the side, thankful it was waterproof, and then extracted the dildo. Having seen Sephiroth's chest, she knew the coloring on the pretend cock was nowhere near what the General's skin color was like, but as she suction cupped the rubber dildo to the wall, at the right level for her use, she knew it wouldn't be a problem. 

She took the bottle of lubricant in her hand next, and popped the cap open. The odd smell of spices and earth filled her senses, and she tried for a moment to remember what Sephiroth had smelled like. It had been masculine, almost like cologne, but so subtle she didn't think he actually wore any. 

She poured out a significant amount of the lubricant out into her palm, and set the bottle back down before reaching over to grip the dildo in her palm, trying to imagine the change in Sephiroth's breath if it were really his cock she were stroking, spreading the thick lubricant over his length. She closed her eyes and stepped closer, stroking her fingertips across the thick length, tilting her head back as though to look into his blue-green eyes as she stroked him. In her mind's eye she watched the rapid rise and fall of that broad, smooth chest as his breathing increased in speed, his eyes searing down at her with desire. 

She felt the moist heat between her legs trickle across her thighs and moaned softly, the sound barely audible over the pattering of the showerhead. She dropped her free hand to slide her fingers eagerly into her damp folds, stroking herself as she gripped the dildo harder, sliding her fingers up and down in time with the passes she made over her clit. She could feel her body tightening in response to the pleasure she was giving herself, and the images of Sephiroth playing across her mind, but she knew it wasn't enough. 

She groped around for the vibrator, clicking the power button, and feeling it beginning to shiver under her fingers as she brought it against her self, moaning and arching into the tiny vibrations as they shot pleasure through her. Her hand increased speed on the dildo, picturing Sephiroth's lips parting halfway, his breathing ragged, his hips pumping into her hand as she stroked him.

The image spiked her need higher, so she gyrated her hips against the vibrator, letting the heat in her stomach coil tighter and tighter, the pleasure spiking higher, and she moaned aloud as she felt her muscles spasm, contracting to bring the pleasure inward before it exploded outward, making her shake from head to toe. At the same time, she tightened her hand around the slick dildo, imagining Sephiroth's low groan as he came, shooting cum over her stomach and hand as she milked his orgasm from him. 

Her head lolled back on her shoulders, the spray of the hot water trailing down her hair and back as she came down from her high, her core pulsating as the last tremors left her, and then she sagged sideways against the shower, breathing hard. She cracked her eyes open, somehow surprised to find herself alone. Her imagination had done a very good job of living up to her fantasy, and she almost wanted to continue it, but she was already over her high and spent the next few minutes rinsing off the vibrator and dildo, storing them back in their bag, and then washing herself down. Her folds were still damp with slick heat, and as she washed herself her fingers grazed her clit, and she felt an answering jolt of brief pleasure, but it wasn't enough to make her want to continue further. 

She was spent. Maybe now she could focus on something other than sex and Sephiroth...


	3. Chapter 3

She got up the next morning as usual, turning off the alarm that announced it was 6 AM, and climbed out of bed. She took a brief shower, dried off, and slipped into a pair of black slacks, one of her favorite black button ups, and a pair of modest high heels, then walked to the kitchen to make breakfast. While she waited for the water to boil for her tea, she turned on the TV to watch the morning news. Nothing out of the ordinary. The nut jobs were still out on the street claiming the end was nigh and had backed up traffic in Midgar, and Shinra was still top of the list in production and finances on the job market. 

She drank her tea, wolfed down a bagel, and grabbed her things before heading off for the station. No one else was up in her neighborhood yet, thankfully, and the sun was barely starting to show through the clouds. It looked to be a rainy day, but she somehow preferred it. There was something oddly comforting about being inside when it was storming, and it was planning to storm. The low rumble of thunder in the distance told her as much. Luckily, she had her umbrella tucked into her purse, and was well ahead of the rain if it caught her mid-commute. 

She boarded the train with the other early risers, nodding towards an elderly woman she recognized, and leaned against one of the rails in the center of the trolly as it headed out towards Shinra's main facility. 

It felt odd to be back at work after two days off. Normally she had the weekends off, and that was typical, but having days off in the middle of the week made her feel disoriented. Like she had missed something important, and when she boarded the elevator in the main lobby to go up to the fifth floor, she was joined by Jaila as the other female slipped inside before the doors shut. Their eyes locked, and they both froze, staring at each other. 

Cosmos waited for Jaila to make a snide remark, but was surprised when the women merely averted her eyes and mumbled, "Morning."

"Morning," she returned, startled, and blinked in confusion at the redhead. 

They rode up in silence, but by the time they'd reached the third floor and let most of the people off, Cosmos felt like she should say something.

"I'm sorry," she murmured to Jaila, bowing her head. 

There was silence for a moment, then Jaila shifted her purse to her other hand and turned to frown at Cosmos, her expression not at all friendly. 

"You should be," the ginger snapped, and Cosmos winced, at the same time feeling a jolt of resentment rising up. "You got us both in trouble, even though I wasn't the one who publicly humiliated General Sephiroth."

"Wow," Cosmos couldn't help but say in a dull voice, leveling a cold look at Jaila, "And here I was starting to feel sorry for you for having to take time off work. My mistake. I should have realized that spreading nasty rumors about General Sephiroth's personal life behind his back is totally fair game. Silly me."

"You called him out in front of our entire office, AND his colleagues!" hissed Jaila, rounding on her. "You publicly embarrassed him to get back at me!"

"No, Jaila, I publicly embarrassed YOU for having the nerve and the stupidity to spread stupid lies about people you really don't know anything about because you're jealous," Cosmos said icily as the lift dinged, announcing their arrival to the fifth floor, and as soon as the doors slid open she stepped out and stalked off towards her desk, fury bubbling just under the surface of her control. 

Gods, she wanted to slap the woman. Oh, yes, it was all HER fault they'd both gotten in trouble. Did Jaila even consider that if it were Cosmos's fault entirely, Sephiroth wouldn't have even bothered bringing Jaila up to his office that night? No. It was because Jaila was just as guilty of speaking out of turn--though just maybe not in front of Sephiroth--as Cosmos was. And it was because Jaila hadn't spoken in front of Sephiroth that made her a coward. She wouldn't have dared spread those rumors or said what she had if she'd known he was in the room... So, no, it wasn't JUST Cosmos's fault. 

Fuming, Cosmos set her bag forcefully on her desk, trying not to explode. She had wanted the morning to start better than this, but apparently Jaila existed to make her life hell. 

She turned on her laptop and settled herself behind her desk, ignoring the curious looks some of her coworkers were giving her. She could sense Jaila just a few yards away, glaring at her, and heard the woman whispering with deliberate loudness, though she couldn't make out what was being said. In the back of her mind, though, she knew Jaila was already hard at work stirring up more lies and rumors about her... No doubt as retaliation.

Well, let her do what she wanted. Cosmos had work to do, and she'd be damned if she let Jaila keep her from doing it. 

A few hours later, she had completed a good amount of the work that had been left waiting for the past two days, and was finally able to move on to the stack of files that had been left on her desk in her absence. They were the new rosters for potential SOLDIER candidates, and needed alphabetizing. She was in charge of last names from R to U, and it took her another solid hour just to get through the first sheet of Rs. 

As she was reaching for the second sheet, a shadow fell across her desk. She glanced up, and suppressed a sigh to see one of her coworkers, a girl named Delilah, standing there, looking expectant. If there was one person who loved gossip more than Jaila, it was Delilah. And she believed everything that came from Jaila's mouth almost as though she were the new age messiah. 

"What's up?" Cosmos asked, sliding the second sheet of R names closer to her. 

"Jaila mentioned you had to stay later than she did with General Sephiroth," Delilah confided in a none-too-quiet voice, "She said she waited for you on the elevator and everything, but you were in his office for another ten minutes and she decided to leave ahead of you."

Cosmos couldn't help it, she raised an eyebrow. "I think Jaila has seconds confused with minutes, because it certainly wasn't ten minutes, and she certainly wasn't waiting for me when I left."

Delilah blinked, pursing her lips together. "But you DID stay later with General Sephiroth?" she hedged. "How come?"

"He wanted to speak to us separately," Cosmos said, shrugging. "He spoke to Jaila first and then me after she'd left."

It wasn't a whole lie. She deliberately left out the part where they'd both been in the room during Sephiroth's dressing down of Jaila, because she knew Delilah would leap on the fact like a rabid dog. 

"But what did he talk to you about?" Delilah pursued eagerly, her eyes shining with excitement, and Cosmos could tell by the way Delilah unnecessarily enunciated the word 'talk' that she didn't at all mean what had the General said to her...

"He just said that Jaila and I need to keep our personal disputes out of the work place and get our jobs done," Cosmos responded as casually as she could manage, when what she really wanted was to throw something at the younger female. "Which, if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to do."

She deliberately looked away from Delilah, who walked off with a bounce in her step, humming to herself. That was never good. Against her better judgment, Cosmos watched the girl out of the corner of her eye, and felt her stomach sink when she joined Jaila at the office coffee pot in the corner and began chatting away in a hushed voice. Jaila glanced over her shoulder at Cosmos, smirking broadly, and said something else to Delilah that made the girl giggle and smirk over at Cosmos as well. 

Gods, she hated them. Both of them. ALL of them... Why the hell couldn't they just leave her alone and get their work done? 

She knew it was jealousy that drove Jaila to do what she did, but why the hell did she have to involve other people in it? Stupid people like Delilah who actually believed her... And why did Delilah believe her anyway? Was she just that naive, or did she enjoy prodding fun at Cosmos, too? There was no real way of telling.  
After she'd gotten through the Rs roster, she took a break for lunch, escaping to a secluded part of the building where she knew no one could bother her. At least no one she cared about. She had been getting covert looks and whispers thrown around her all day from the girls in the office, and some of the guys had even given her knowing looks when she'd happened to make eye contact with them, and she was tired of it. 

She almost wished she could tell Jaila something HAD happened, just to wipe the smirk of of her smug little face. What would the redhead think, or say, if she knew that her precious General had been getting close to Cosmos after all? Somehow, Cosmos got the sense she wouldn't be anywhere near as smug, then. But she didn't dare say anything...

Not only because she didn't want the entire office to know what had transpired between her and Sephiroth, but because she was honestly afraid of what the General would do if word got out that she'd been getting intimate with him in his office. 

No...she'd rather deal with the stares and mutters that followed her. At least that way no one could prove anything, and she could satisfy herself that Jaila was just a jealous, poor excuse of a woman who needed to get a life. 

As she was returning from lunch, she was startled to enter the office and find it totally silent. She peered around, confused for a moment, until she located the source of what had caused the unnatural hush in the room. Standing by her desk, arms crossed over his chest, looking around with an intent gaze, was Commander Zack Fair. She had only ever seen him once before, in passing as she'd walked down one of the hallways on the seventh floor and spotted him training cadets.   
She couldn't imagine for the life of her why he was down here, or who he was there for. At least, not until he looked around at her approach and greeted her with a friendly, yet professional, smile. 

"Cosmos Rielle?" he asked, and she felt her heart skip a beat. 

"Yes," she said carefully.

"You're needed upstairs," he informed her, handing her a small business card that was blank on one side, but held a number on the other. She recognized it immediately as the number of Sephiroth's office. "Right away, if you can."

She blinked rapidly up at him, and nodded. He inclined his head to her, then marched off out the doors towards the lift. She stood there numbly for a moment, not really able to comprehend what had just happened. She glanced down at the card in her hand again, her eyes scanning those three elegantly written numbers.

906.

She swallowed her anxiety and tucked the card in her pocket. She could see Jaila watching her from her own cubicle, and knew she'd be digging her own grave if she allowed the other woman to see the card. Jaila knew that number, too. Probably knew it better than Cosmos. She'd know exactly who was asking for Cosmos to come upstairs, and then that would lead to a whole slew of rumors that would follow her everywhere she went. She couldn't allow it. She locked her computer screen, tucked away her files and locked them up as well, then headed towards the lift. 

She passed Delilah's desk on the way, and the younger girl actually stepped out in front of her, forcing to halt so they avoided a collision.

"What did Commander Fair want?" the girl asked, looking intent. 

"I suggest you ask him," Cosmos replied coldly, narrowing her eyes at the girl. "Now move, please."

Delilah scowled at her, but backed down, and Cosmos swept past her towards the elevator. She stepped inside, jabbed the button to the 9th floor, and waited as the doors closed, keeping her eyes on her toes until they had shut completely so she could avoid looking at anyone who might be staring at her. She exhaled slowly and lifted her head, feeling the elevator start upwards, and suddenly had a sense of foreboding that she had no idea what to do about. It hit her form nowhere, like a punch in the gut, and she felt a squirm of unease turn her stomach as she stood there in the elevator, thinking. 

Why did Sephiroth want to see her? She hadn't done anything wrong today. She hadn't even seen him. She fidgeted with the hem of her blouse, then went still as a thought occurred to her, a thought that made absolutely no logical sense, but it was all she could think of. The skirt. He'd specifically ordered she wear a skirt. She wasn't. In the back of her mind she couldn't believe that was why he was calling her up to his office. He was a General; he had better things to do than make sure she had done something as stupid as put on a skirt for him. But nothing else made sense...

Her heartbeat accelerated as the elevator climbed, and felt like it was about to burst out of her chest as the female voice announced, "Ninth Floor", and the doors slid open quietly. 

She stepped out of the elevator rigidly, trying to keep her breathing steady. She turned right down the hallway, following the path from her memory until she reached the office near the end of the hall. 906.

She hesitated, wishing for all the world she could just turn around, get back on the elevator, go downstairs, and pretend Commander Fair hadn't given her the note. But she couldn't...not without consequences. So, taking a steadying breath, and praying to the Gods she wouldn't regret this, she lifted a hand and knocked three times. 

"Come in," Sephiroth's voice issued from behind the door. 

Trembling, she grasped the handle and pushed it open, stepping inside. He was behind his desk, just as last time, and didn't look up as she entered and closed the door behind her. 

The chair that had stood in front of his desk was gone, so instead of walking over to it, she walked straight over to his desk, stopping just a couple feet away. She tried to stay calm as she stood there, her hands clasped tightly in front of her to keep them from visibly shaking. 

Sephiroth had his head slightly bowed, eyes focused on the numerous papers spread across his desk. His writing hand scrawled quickly across a few lines, and then moved on to the next page. He didn't even seem to acknowledge her presence, but she knew better than to think he didn't realize she was there. 

She waited, heart racing, her anxiety mounting; doing her very best not to let her mind revisit the memories of what had happened the last time she had been in this office. It was difficult. Every time she looked anywhere near the General her mind began to rewind, and she had to look down to put on the brakes before things got out of hand. 

After a few more moments of quiet scribbling, Sephiroth finally spoke. 

"The folder on top of the pile contains copies of the rosters of current cadets and their respective trainers. I need them checked against the original roster to make sure there are no errors."

He paused long enough to tug a packet of names from under some of the other papers on his desk, and passed it to her without looking up.

She took it, hand trembling slightly, and then retrieved the folder he had indicated. 

"Sit there," he instructed, pointing with the end of his pen towards a small desk and chair set in the corner. 

She didn't remember it being there previously, but didn't comment on it, and walked obediently over to take a seat. 

She opened the folder and pulled out the first sheet, lining it up against the original to compare them. Every so often, she would hear or glimpse Sephiroth moving at his desk and tense, but after a few minutes she lost herself completely in the task she'd been given. Her fingers trailed down the list of names, her gaze switching between the copy and the original, looking for flaws. 

It took a good hour to reach the end of the list, and when she did she straightened up with a sigh. It was all perfect.

She resorted the loose copies into the folder, and placed the original roster on top. Rising from her seat, she afforded herself a small stretch, then gathered up the papers and returned to the front of Sephiroth's desk. 

He still had his head bent to his work, and hadn't spoken a single word the whole time she had been working. 

"There were no mistakes, sir," she told him quietly, replacing the folder on top of the pile on his desk, "Everything was copied identically."

She held out the original to him, sure he would want it put back where it had come from, but he didn't take it. 

"Top drawer of the filing cabinet," he instructed. "File it under 'C' for cadets. It goes in the front of the folder."

She glanced around, spotting the filing cabinet just to the left of him against the wall. She walked around his desk to reach it, and carefully pulled open the top drawer. She scanned the labels sticking up from inside until she found 'C' and pulled it open. She tucked the roster neatly in front of the file among the other papers, then slid the drawer shut again. 

As it clicked closed, she felt a warm breeze hit the back of her neck. She frowned, starting to turn around, but abruptly a hand circled the back of her neck and forced her up against the filing cabinet, which creaked as she was pressed into it. 

She gasped, startled, and automatically started to squirm around, trying to get free.

"Stop," Sephiroth's voice commanded in her ear, and she froze as she felt his body pressing into her from behind; trapping her against the cold metal of the filing cabinet. 

She was scarcely daring to breathe at this point, every memory she'd tamped down from their last encounter suddenly bubbling to the surface with painful clarity, only last time they had been face to face. Now he had her pressed into the wall, totally vulnerable to him. 

His fingers massaged her throat gently, and she shivered, goosebumps rising all over her arms and the back of her neck. 

"Do you remember, Miss Rielle?" he asked softly, his voice right in her ear as his lips pressed against her skin; as hot as a brand. "I had made a special request of you the last time you were in my office... Do you remember what it was?"

She exhaled shakily, not knowing what to say, not knowing if he really wanted her to say anything. She tensed as his free hand settled on her hip, his fingers sliding almost thoughtfully over the fabric of her slacks, his palm burning her skin through the leather of his glove. 

"I had requested," he murmured quietly, trailing his lips along the outer shell of her ear and along the column of her neck, "That you wear a skirt for me...remember?"

She gave a very faint nod, feeling her heart racing and her breath forcing in and out of her lungs, each inhale pressing her breasts into the metal filing cabinet. 

"So why did you not do as I asked?" he inquired lightly, flexing his fingers around her neck just enough to apply the slightest bit of pressure. 

She couldn't speak. Her brain was on total lockdown and couldn't process what was happening. It was like being thrown into a dream again, and she wasn't sure if she was awake or not. It just didn't seem real...

"I asked a question, Miss Rielle," he murmured even more softly than before, and his hand on the back of her neck slid down slowly, trailing along her spine, wringing shudders from her, until both of his hands settled firmly on her hips, his fingers biting into her skin through her slacks. "Why haven't you done as I asked?"

His lips came down on the curve between her neck and shoulders, moving slowly, languidly, and she felt his tongue dart out to trail across her skin, like he was tasting her. 

The sensation of his moist, hot tongue on her skin made her head fall back against his chest, and she almost moaned, her fingers digging for purchase on the sides of the filing cabinet. Gods, his mouth felt incredible, warm and wicked, and she felt heat pooling between her legs as his body rubbed against hers, just as hot as his mouth, though distinctly harder. 

"Answer me," he commanded in a low voice, and nipped sharply at her exposed skin, making her whimper. His fingers tightened on her hips, almost to the point of pain. "Did you perhaps worry what your colleagues would think? That they might take your new dress code as a hint of something a little more...intimate...? Were you worried what those 'boys' downstairs would think of you? How they'd look at you...?"

She whimpered again, caught between pushing back against him as he pressed his body nearer, or trying to pull away, somewhere between fear and lust. The terrifying part was that she had thought of it...She'd imagined what everyone in the office would say, or think, or do...and she'd been afraid... To be honest, she still was...

"You still haven't answered me," Sephiroth breathed against her ear, making her shiver and moan. "Are you afraid of what will happen if you tell me...? Regardless, Miss Rielle, there will be repercussions for failing to follow my orders."

He spun her around suddenly, and for a moment she didn't know where she was and only that the room was a whirl around her, and then her back hit the wall next to the filing cabinet, and her breath left her in a rush as Sephiroth pressed his hard, heavy body against hers, his face nestled in the crook of her neck, his hot breath sliding over her skin until goosebumps covered her entire body and she shivered and squirmed against him. 

"I expect you will do a better job of listening to me from now on, Miss Rielle," he murmured in her ear as he captured both of her wrists between the long fingers of his hand and pinned them easily above her head. "I expect that tomorrow, I will not have to reprimand you for the same offense..."

His free hand settled loosely around her neck, his thumb feathering over her pulse as he straightened up to look down at her from his impressive height; his blue-green eyes seeming to glow in the dimly lit room. Her heart pounded hard in her chest, resonating in her ears, and her breathing was rapid and unsteady as his fingers trailed lower, the leather of his gloves providing a strangely pleasurable sensation as they skimmed over her collarbone, and lower to the neckline of her blouse. 

He fingered the plastic button there for a moment, then slowly slid it free, allowing her shirt to fall open further. 

She inhaled sharply, knowing he could easily see the tops of her breasts, and her bra as it peeked out from behind the black fabric of her blouse. The action, of course, only brought her breasts to center stage as her intake of breath caused them to rise, pushing her blouse open further, and she went still as his eyes slid down to linger on her exposed flesh. 

She could see hunger in his gaze, and her stomach turned itself over and over, twisting itself in knots, as his fingers glided lower to undo the second button, and pushed the edges of her shirt wide for his access. 

She twisted her wrists helplessly in his grip, breathing so fast it hurt, and whimpered when he tightened his grip, ensuring she couldn't escape him. 

"I want your word that tomorrow you will have followed my instructions, Miss Rielle," he murmured, dipping his head towards hers. "I do not like to be disappointed...Do I make myself clear?"

She stared at him, not knowing what to do. She wanted to refuse, but at the same time she didn't... 

His eyes burned into her, so piercing they hurt to look at, and she dropped her gaze. 

"Miss Rielle," he said quietly, and his free hand caught her chin, coaxing her face up until she was looking into his eyes again, "I expect you to look at me when I am speaking. Have I made myself clear?"

She nodded helplessly. What else could she do?

"Very good," he praised her softly, and allowed his hand to slide back down to nudge the collar of her shirt away from her throat.

He lowered his head towards her, and she squirmed again, subconsciously trying to free herself, even as her legs moved restlessly, trying to soothe the throbbing ache between her legs as damp heat soaked her thighs. 

"I'll give you a reminder," he murmured as his lips came level with her collarbone, "So you don't forget again..."

His lips parted over her skin, and she moaned, arching into him as his mouth closed over her sensitive flesh. Pleasure sparked all over her body, and she was all but writing against him as he suckled her collarbone, his tongue laving attention there until her skin was wet from it. He nipped, suckled, and soothed, and she closed her eyes tightly against the pleasure. 

She felt his hand ghost over her lips, and her eyes came open halfway just as his palm settled firmly over her mouth, and he sank his teeth into her skin. She screamed, but the sound was muffled against the leather of his gloved fingers. She struggled, pain mixing suddenly with the pleasure, and her heart felt like it was about to explode out of her chest as he ran his tongue slowly over the mark, leaving a subtle sting behind.

When he pulled away at last, she was panting, tears of pain glistening in her eyes, and her mind was a haze of confusion, pleasure, pain, and fear. He lowered his hand from her mouth, brushing his thumb slowly across her lower lip, his eyes fixated there for a moment, as though contemplating his next move. His expression was as calm as always, detached, even, and she felt an uncomfortable lurch in the pit of her stomach as he finally released her wrists and stepped away, returning to his seat at his desk. 

He didn't speak, and left her to rebutton her shirt in silence. 

The fabric chaffed over the mark on her chest, and she winced, glancing down at the spot. The skin was red, and raw, with clear bite marks around a dark purple center; looking like a vicious bruise. With shaky fingers, she did up the buttons on her shirt, checking at least three times to make sure the mark was good and hidden before she pushed herself away from the wall. 

She glanced at Sephiroth as she passed him, but his eyes were on his work again, and he did not speak. 

She started for the door, her mind racing with thoughts, and she had gotten her hand on the handle before his voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Come to my office tomorrow before you leave for the weekend, Miss Rielle," he instructed coolly. "I have a few more things I need you to look over."

She hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, sir," she barely managed to whisper, and slipped out of the office, closing the door tightly behind her. 


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of her day went by in a haze, and more than once Lyra, her boss, came over to her desk with a slightly concerned look to ask if she was alright. By the end of the day, and after another visit from Lyra, she had requested the next day off. Her chest where Sephiroth's mark was throbbed as she gathered her things and clocked off, and she felt almost as though through some sorcery it was reminding her of the kind of things that would happen if she failed to appear for work the following day, but she didn't care. 

She was beyond the pleasure now. Beyond the fantasy he'd produced before. She was afraid. The first encounter with him had been one thing. He'd barely touched her, only uttered elicit things to her, but he had kept himself more or less removed. Today, he had not only touched her, he'd pinned her, trapped her; marked her. There had been pain, not just pleasure, and she was afraid. 

She couldn't come to work tomorrow and face him. She would spend tomorrow at home, and the weekend as well, trying to figure out what to do once Monday came. Maybe she could transfer offices... Shinra had an office located on the outskirts of Midgar, much farther from her house, but as she boarded the train to return home, she couldn't think of any good reason not to make a longer commute. She was still shaking by the time she got home. 

Her mind was an insane whirl of thoughts and emotions. Fear. Pleasure. But primarily confusion. 

She couldn't connect what was happening with reality as she knew it. 

Up until two days ago, Sephiroth had not once so much as looked her way, but after the events with Jaila, and the resulting meeting in his office, things had suddenly changed. He not only noticed her, he was physical with her. He was confident enough to get her alone, in his office, and put his hands on her. The way he looked at her...it was not the way he should have been looking at her...not after all the time that had gone by when he hadn't even acknowledged she existed. 

Or...had he...? He'd known her name, those two days ago. He knew her name when she'd never once spoken to him. She'd forgotten that until now... But why had he known her name? He knew Jaila's, certainly, but Jaila had been working for Shinra and for Sephiroth for the better part of five years, and prided herself on having Sephiroth know her name. Maybe it was as simple as he made it a point to know the names of his underlings, no matter how far under him they were. It was something that a SOLDIER might do, but she didn't feel that was quite right... That still didn't explain this... Any of it...

She got home and bolted the door the moment she was inside, dropping her things and heading straight for the bathroom. Once there, she shrugged out of her blouse and stood with her top bare in front of the mirror, staring at the vivid mark on her chest. It was even darker now, more bruised, and his teeth marks had left near perfect imprints on her skin. Anyone who saw it would know exactly what it was, even if they didn't know from whom she'd received it. She considered herself lucky, in a sense, that he hadn't left it higher on her neck, where she couldn't hide it easily with her shirts. She sensed it had been on purpose, but that was another thing that made her question 'why'? Why not make it more obvious?

There were already rumors about them, and him calling her up to his office was not exactly subtle, even if she had no proof that anyone knew whose office she had been to that day. Was he actually reluctant to let there be more than rumors about them? Why...? Why if he was so comfortable putting his hands on her and toying with her in his office where anyone could stumble across them? Especially the higher ups like Genesis and Angeal and Zack. 

It made no sense... 

She massaged her temples, feeling the onset of a headache, and heaved a sigh as she gave up trying to figure out his reasoning. It didn't matter. What DID matter was icing the bruise on her chest, getting into her pajamas, and, effective tomorrow, seeing how quickly she could transfer to another unit of Shinra. It was incredible to think that just yesterday she had pleasured herself to the image and memory of Sephiroth, and now she wasn’t sure what to think of him. And what would happen once he figured out she wasn't at work tomorrow...? He’d specifically asked her to come back… 

Part of her almost wanted to run back out to see if the boutique that housed that little black skirt was still open, but she shook the thought away as abruptly as it had come, changing into her pajamas and wandering into her kitchen to get an ice pack. She was not going to do it... No. She wouldn't be his plaything...and that's what she was. 

There had been nothing in the way he looked at her or touched her that suggested she was anything more than something to use for his amusement and pleasure. There had been no admiration, or love, only that intense, all-devouring hunger, and lust. Somehow, it hurt just to think about…

The first time, she had thought perhaps it would change. Today, she knew she’d thought wrong. He was a SOLDIER. Shinra's Finest. He had no use for relationships, or commitment, if it wasn't part of his mission, and the only mission he seemed to have with her was to dominate... It was incredible, really, how quickly she had come to realize that. 

Maybe it was the bite. Maybe it was that pain he'd inflicted in the midst of it all that had jerked her back to some semblance of reality... And the reality was that he was dangerous, and unpredictable, she couldn't stay near him. Let Jaila say what she wanted...she could spread whatever rumors she liked. If Cosmos had any say, she wasn’t going near Sephiroth again. No way.

She sprawled out in bed with the ice pack clutched to her chest, wincing as the cold seeped through her thin cotton nightshirt, and groped briefly on the nightstand before she located the remote and flicked on the TV. She turned the channels idly, not really noticing what was on; her mind occupied with other things. 

Just as she'd finally settled on a family channel where a host was laughing with the audience over a set of hilarious home videos, there was a dull buzz from the vicinity of her purse, and she glanced down over the edge of her bed at it. A light flickered in its depths, and she realized as the buzz sounded again that her phone was ringing. 

Rolling onto her stomach, she dug the mobile out of her purse and examined the caller ID. She didn't recognize the number. 

Shrugging, figuring it was a wrong number, she set the phone beside her and let it buzz until it went to voice mail. It was quiet for a few seconds, and then the screen lit up again as her phone vibrated a second time. Frowning, she picked it up. It was the same number. 

Sighing, figuring the person would continue to call until she answered and told them they had the wrong number, she flipped the phone open and put it to her ear. 

"Hello?" she answered.

"Cosmos?"

She frowned, recognizing the voice. "Alstro?"

"Oh, good, I got the number right!" sighed Alstro in relief. "I'm using a public phone and was worried I dialed the wrong number." 

"What happened to your cellphone?" Cosmos asked, stunned to hear her friend's voice. It had been weeks since they'd spoken. "Did you lose it again?"

"No, I actually dropped it in the rain the other day and it hasn't turned back on since," said Alstro with a hint of embarrassment. "I couldn't remember any other numbers except yours, so I thought I'd give you a call. Plus, we haven't spoken in ages and I miss you."

"I miss you, too," Cosmos said, smiling. 

Alstromeria—better known by Alstro—had been Cosmos's friend for more than a decade. They'd met as kids and been inseparable ever since, except when their jobs pulled them away from each other, as was the usual case now. 

"Sorry it's been so long since I called," apologized Alstro, sounding regretful. "Work has been crazy. We've lost three workers in the past week. Two moved out of town, and the other got fired for doing some not-so-legal side jobs behind the store, so we've been pulling double shifts to make up for the lack of employees."

"Jeez," muttered Cosmos, frowning. 

Alstro certainly sounded tired, and working double shifts was sure to do it. 

"Eh, we'll figure it out," sighed Alstro, and Cosmos heard her rustling around on the other end of the line. "We've got a few interviewees coming in tomorrow, but they don't look all that promising. We'll see how it goes. How's your job going, by the way? They're not giving you too much grief, are they?"

Cosmos hesitated. They, Shinra, certainly weren't giving her grief, but a certain employee—or rather a couple of their employees—were... The thought of it made the bite mark on her chest throb, and she pressed the icepack down harder over it to try and soothe the ache away; an involuntary flash of heat stole through her lower stomach.

"I, uh...I've actually been thinking about transferring from my spot," she admitted after a moment, frowning down at the bed covers.

"How come?" asked Alstro, sounding surprised. "Is everything okay?"

"...I don't know," admitted Cosmos quietly, closing her eyes. "There are just...I don't know if I can handle working in the office I'm in anymore. The company itself is fine, but the people..."

"You're going to have nasty people wherever you go, baby," pointed out Alstro gently. 

"Yeah, but..." Cosmos felt desperation rising. "It's more than just nasty people, Al..."

There was a pause. "What do you mean, baby?" Alstro urged her, sounding concerned. 

Cosmos took a shaky breath, feeling suddenly on the verge of tears. 

"I, just, uh..." She took another trembling breath, "There are just people in the office that...I...uh...that scare me."

She didn't want to tell Alstro the truth. She didn't know what her friend would do, but she had the feeling it wouldn't be good. And she didn't want to get her friend mixed up in Shinra and Sephiroth and everything else...

"Scare you how?" demanded Alstro, her voice tense. "Cosmos, has someone threatened you or something? Tell me the truth. What's happened?"

Cosmos shook her head, even though Alstro couldn't see her, and exhaled a shaky breath. "It’s hard to explain…Could you come over?" she asked quietly, pressing the icepack into her chest so hard it was starting to burn. 

"Yes, absolutely," said Alstro. "I'll be right over, okay? Don't go anywhere. I'm coming over right now."

"Thanks, Al," Cosmos sighed, putting down the icepack to wipe at her damp eyes. 

"Don't worry about it, hon, I'm coming over," Alstro reassured her, and disconnected. 

Cosmos snapped her phone shut and set it aside, picking her icepack back up with numb fingers and laying back among the pillows, sniffling quietly, eyes closed. 

Her dream had turned into a nightmare, and the darkness of the room and the night only seemed to make it worse. Just yesterday, she'd liked the dark. It had helped her feel safe and secure in her fantasies, knowing that no one else could judge her or condemn her for them. But now she was doing all the judging and condemning herself. How could she have thought of Sephiroth that way? He treated her like a toy, and she'd fantasized about him, like he was romantic or something... Yeah, right... Romantic wasn’t part of his description. Probably wasn’t even in his vocabulary…

Sniffling, she rolled onto her side, curling in on herself as tears threatened to well up. This royally sucked…

Ten minutes later, or maybe it was longer, she heard the front door open, and Alstro's voice sounded from the living room. 

"In here!" Cosmos called back to her friend, and a few seconds later Alstro appeared in the door.

She'd clearly been running. Her long wavy ponytail was windswept, her cheeks were reddened, and she was out of breath, clutching her knapsack in one hand and her keys in the other. 

"Hey, baby," Alstro greeted her, slightly breathlessly, as she set her things down and wandered over to the bed to settle herself next to Cosmos. 

There was obvious concern in the girl's golden-brown eyes as she looked down at her friend, and gently patted her arm. 

"What's up?" she asked softly, then noticed the ice pack. "What happened? Are you hurt? Let me see."

Cosmos sat up, but didn't immediately relinquish her hold on the ice pack, instead clutching it to her and wiping at her eyes again. 

"Cosmos, talk to me, I'm getting scared," Alstro said nervously, peering into her friend's pale face with evident unease. "Did someone do that to you? Someone from work? What is it, let me see it."

"I think I might leave my job," Cosmos said, interrupting the flow of Alstro's words.

There was temporary silence. 

"Okay," said Alstro slowly after a couple of seconds, and she seemed to be trying to process what Cosmos had said. "You mean like…’quit’ leave?”

Cosmos nodded.

”What would you do, though? I thought you said you were only going to transfer buildings. Can't you file a report?"

Cosmos shook her head, unable to meet her friend's eyes. 

"Why not?" Alstro demanded, stunned. "If someone at work assaulted you--"

"He's not just someone, he's one of the top someone’s, and I'd sooner quit and work somewhere else than worry about him showing up at whatever office I transfer to," Cosmos interrupted sharply.

Alstro looked startled, and Cosmos took a deep breath, covering her eyes with her free hand. 

"I'm sorry," she murmured wearily, "I just...I'm confused, and I’m tired...I don't know what's happening and I don’t know what to do...I even took tomorrow off to get away."

Alstro inched forward, and placed her hands gently on Cosmos's shoulders, squeezing reassuringly.

"What happened, baby?" she asked in a murmur. "Talk to me. I'm scared for you, Cos, but I'm here and I'm listening and I want to help, so talk to me."

Cosmos took a moment to gather herself, then began the story, from as far to the beginning as she could get. Which was two days ago. She told Alstro about the rumors Jaila had been spreading, and how they'd seemed harmless enough, but they had pissed her off. She told her about how Sephiroth had walked in just as Jaila was calling her out in front of everyone in the office, and what she'd said in response. She explained the evening meeting in Sephiroth's office, and how Jaila had been sent home, but she'd been asked to stay behind for a little while so he could speak to her privately. 

When she got to the part about Sephiroth backing her against the wall, nearly kissing her, and the things he'd said, Alstro's eyes grew very round. She'd never met Sephiroth, but she kept up with the times and knew exactly who he was. 

Cosmos plowed on, discussing how he'd told her to take two days off, like Jaila, and his parting words before she'd left his office. She explained about her conflict over the skirt, and, with some reluctance, admitted her blind attraction to Sephiroth, up until today. As she went into detail about how Sephiroth had called her up to his office again, and what he had done this time, Alstro's eyes darkened. 

"He asked me to come to his office tomorrow after work," Cosmos finished in a quiet voice, her knees drawn up to her chest. "I was scared...My boss kept coming over to ask if I was okay and she finally gave me the day off when I asked. She figured I was just sick... I didn't...I couldn't tell her what had happened... With everything else that's been going on around the office—all the crap Jaila has been telling people—and all of that, I couldn't say it... None of them would have believed me anyway, but I can't...I can't go back. I don’t know what to do, Al..."

Her voice cracked, and she bowed her head against her knees. Alstro leaned forward and put her arms around her friend, hugging her tightly. They sat like that for a while, neither of them speaking, and when they finally broke apart, Alstro's expression was a mixture of fury and fear. 

"So quit," she said, almost desperately. 

"I want to," Cosmos admitted quietly, "I want to, but at the same time I don’t...the only reason I can afford to live here, or anywhere, is because of this job..."

"Move in with me, then, but for Gods' sakes, Cosmos, don't let yourself get dragged further into this," Alstro pleaded, gripping her hand tightly. 

There was a pause, and then Alstro glanced to where Cosmos was still holding the icepack. 

"Let me see," she murmured. 

Cosmos glanced up at her friend, then gingerly lowered the pack, and lifted her shirt up to let Alstro see the angry purple and red mark on her collarbone. Alstro sucked in a sharp breath, looking horrified.

"My God, Cosmos, you have to report him," she whispered, leaning forward, looking like she wanted to touch the mark, but restraining herself. 

When Cosmos only shrugged and shook her head, Alstro’s amber eyes glowed with anger. "He assaulted you! That's proof, right there, that he assaulted you! You could totally ruin his career for this!"

"Yeah, because that's what I want to be remembered for," said Cosmos sarcastically, covering herself up again, "Ruining the life of the world's greatest hero."

"He's not a hero if he treats you like that," snapped Alstro.

"And you think the rest of the entire world is going to agree with that?" Cosmos asked, frowning at her friend. "Because in reality, Alstro, they won't. They won't see it as 'he attacked her, what a horrible thing to do', it'll end up 'she was probably asking for it and then decided to use it against him'."

Alstro frowned, clearly unhappy, but she knew Cosmos was right. 

"You could come work with me," she offered after a long moment, and gave a tentatively joking smile. "We're hiring, after all."

Cosmos returned her friend's smile, and after a moment they both snuggled up in bed to watch TV. Alstro linked arms with her, and Cosmos could tell her friend was very distressed, maybe even more so than she herself was. She couldn't blame Alstro, though...

They always looked out for each other, and she got the sense Alstro felt as though she'd failed to look out for her this time. It wasn't her fault, though. It was just something that had happened. And one way or another, Cosmos was going to have to deal with it…eventually.


	5. Chapter 5

They fell asleep late, and woke up late. Cosmos woke up first, even without her alarm to rouse her, and slipped away from Alstro to head downstairs to make breakfast. 

She turned on the TV downstairs, keeping the volume low so as not to wake up Alstro, and popped a bagel into the toaster. She glanced at the clock, vaguely realizing that if she had gone in to work, she would have already been taking her lunch break... She wondered how long it would take Sephiroth to realize she wasn't there...maybe he already knew... 

She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. What would he do, she wondered, once he realized...? He'd branded her just for failing to wear a skirt at his request... To not show up for work... That was something else entirely...

She heard a yawn from behind her, and turned to see Alstro trudging into the kitchen, rubbing tiredly at her eyes. 

"Morning," she greeted her friend with a little smirk, noting that Alstro's usually sleek ponytail was sticking up in various directions from its rubber band, and one long strand had come completely free and was hanging straight into her friend's face. 

"Mornin'," returned Alstro sleepily, hugging her briefly before going to rummage through the fridge. "Any calls from work asking why you're not there?"

The question sounded innocent, but Cosmos had known Alstro long enough to know when her friend was digging. And Alstro was coming at her with a pickaxe. 

"No," she answered, resting her hip against the counter, eyes on the TV as she waited for her bagel to toast. "Maybe, actually. I haven't checked my phone, but it was on the bed when we fell asleep and normally even if it vibrates it wakes me up, so I don't think anyone's called. I didn't hear the house phone ring either."

Alstro peered over the top of the fridge door at her, looking thoughtful, and uncertain. "Do you think he'll call?" she asked quietly.

Cosmos shrugged. "I don't know... Two days ago I would have said 'no way'. Now I don't know. I don't even know why he's doing this... It makes no sense."

"Maybe it does to him," suggested Alstro, straightening up with a bottle of orange juice and an apple from the crisper. "Psychos usually understand their own reasoning, even when there's no reasoning to be had."

Cosmos nodded, but she wasn't sure if she would label Sephiroth as a psycho. He didn't quite fit the bill. Controlling, maybe. Perhaps he was even into BDSM, but she didn't pin him as a psycho... There had to be a real reason behind his actions, and she just wasn't seeing it. 

"He's a SOLDIER," she murmured after a brief pause in which Alstro took a large bite out of the apple and poured herself a glass of juice. "Everything is about strategy and planning to him. He's always five steps ahead of everyone else... He probably had this whole plan in his head before two days ago and it just never occurred to me because his other job is making sure only HE knows what the plan is... He has to stay covert."

Alstro frowned, chewing thoughtfully. "He still sounds psycho," she said, "And that bite on your chest kind of speaks to that."

Cosmos rubbed absently at her collarbone, wincing as her fingers brushed across the tender skin.  "I just wish I understood what's going on in his head," she mumbled, hunching her shoulders a bit. "He's always so calm, and composed. Nothing ever seems to affect him..."

Alstro stepped up beside her, leaning their shoulders together in an effort to comfort her friend.  "Come work with me," she insisted, elbowing her friend playfully in the ribs. "You can make just as much money, AND we can live together, and my boss is awesome."

It sounded like an excellent idea, honestly, but Cosmos couldn't just drop everything at Shinra to leave with Alstro for a new job she knew nothing about. Besides that...

"I'd have to give two weeks' notice," she murmured with a defeated sigh. "I can’t just up and leave..."

"You _can_ just up and leave, Cos," Alstro told her softly. “He HURT you. You don't owe that company anything if they wouldn't take your side against him."

She knew in a way it was true, and at the same time Cosmos couldn't fully agree with Alstro. It was much more complicated than that...

She sighed, bringing her hands up to cover her eyes for a moment, just to block out the world. Yesterday already felt like a vague nightmare, but the throbbing on her collarbone told her it was not just a dream, and this time she couldn't just brush it off. Even if she felt much calmer now than she had last night, that wasn’t bound to last if she just ignored things as they were…

"Come with me to work tomorrow," Alstro suggested. "You can meet with Nero and talk about getting a job. He's great, he'll help you out with anything you need."

Cosmos nodded. She wanted to honestly consider it, but the idea of packing up and leaving the only solid job she’d ever had wasn’t exactly reassuring at this point. At the same time, what would two more weeks in the same building as Sephiroth be like? Just the thought sent a shiver down her spine, and the fact that she couldn’t tell if it was from unease did nothing to make her feel better.

Maybe she could transfer offices and then submit her two weeks’ notice. At least she’d be physically away from Sephiroth…and Jaila. It just might work…

As though sensing the disturbance in her friend's mind, Alstro wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a brief side hug.

"So, your fridge is almost empty," she said then, grinning slightly, "And I get the feeling you're not in the mood to go out today, so how about I go do your grocery shopping, and you just hang around doing whatever it is you do on your days off until I get back. Then we can microwave s'mores and binge watch that stupid comedy show you like."

Cosmos threw her friend an annoyed look, but smiled. "It is not a stupid show," she said defensively, even as laughter bubbled up in her chest, "It is an awesome show."

"You watch people fall off of ladders and run into doors and think it's funny," Alstro said dully, but her eyes glowed with amusement. 

"It _is_  funny," Cosmos said decisively. "It's absolutely hysterical. You just can't see the humor in it."

"Uh-huh," sighed Alstro, rolling her eyes and pushing away from the counter. "Your bagel is burnt, babe."

Cosmos turned to see the now blackened and crispy bagel steaming in the toaster and muttered a choice expletive under her breath. 

"I'll go buy some more, so just nurse yourself on milk or orange juice until I get back," laughed Alstro, snatching up the grocery list from the kitchen table as she walked by and heading to the bedroom to grab her bag. 

Cosmos yanked the burnt pastry out of the toaster and flung it into the sink, watching it smoke and crumble like coal. Sighing, she turned to watch Alstro head out the front door, and once she glimpsed her friend passing in front of the kitchen window, she turned to walk out into the living room. 

She didn't really know what to do for her day off. Usually she made plans to keep her busy. Doing the shopping, going out for a movie, or stopping by the library. Even visiting the animal shelter, but she didn't much feel like doing any of those things. She hadn't planned to have today off, and part of her almost wanted to climb back in bed and sleep the rest of the day away. But she couldn't...

She was up and running now, and she would probably be that way until tonight...

She heaved a sigh and slumped down on the couch, nabbing a pillow and holding it to her chest for a long moment, staring blankly at the opposite wall. 

Her mind wandered back to the office, where she would have been had she not requested off, and if Lyra hadn't given her the okay. She'd be back from lunch... Yesterday, Zack Fair had been waiting with a note for her. She wondered if someone else would be there today, to remind her to show up in Sephiroth's office. Or maybe if someone had been sent to check on her, and reported back she wasn't there... What would he do when he found out she wouldn't be visiting his office that evening?

She shivered slightly as she pictured it. The tall, silver haired General sitting in his office, watching the door expectantly, frowning when nothing happened. He'd make a quick call, get clarification. Was she late? Had she forgotten? No...she just wasn't there at all. He'd hang up the phone slowly, his expression stony, like it always was. 

_She'd disobeyed him again..._

The words crossed her mind before she could stop them, and she curled in on herself as her heart skipped several beats, leaving an uncomfortable sensation in her chest. Her stomach rebelled slightly, and she pressed on it with the pillow. 

What would he do...? He had easy access to her records. Her address. Her phone number... Would he stalk her to her own home? Would he go that far? She didn't know... That first day in his office already seemed like a lifetime ago, and the time before that was more like a vague memory than a reality she had once lived. The time before Jaila's rumors and her own stupidity had landed her in this situation.

What if she hadn't said anything at all that day? What if she'd just shrugged off Jaila's comment and gone back to work? Would he have done any of this? Would he have called them to his office? She didn't see why he would... He wouldn't have known any better...or if he had, he might not have cared... Perhaps the way he was acting now was his retribution against her for calling him out in public; humiliating him, like Jaila had said...

And what if Jaila was right? What if that was what had happened? What if she'd humiliated him to the point he felt the need to exact revenge on her for it? Punish her for insubordination or something like that... Somehow, the idea didn't seem too farfetched in her opinion. He'd said he didn't like being disappointed, or disobeyed... Perhaps he viewed what she had done as disobedience. Stepping out of line...

She buried her face in the pillow, her temples throbbing. She knew she was thinking about it too hard, but the thoughts just wouldn't leave her be. She wanted answers... A change had occurred in the General seemingly overnight, and it made absolutely no sense. None. 

Alstro returned about an hour later, laden down with groceries and accompanied by a bearded man Cosmos recognized instantly. Marcello. The two were chatting animatedly as they came up to the front door, and when Cosmos pulled the door open for them, Marcello smiled broadly at her.

“Afternoon, Cosmos,” he greeted her, squeezing his way through the front door, his arms laden with groceries. 

"Hi, Marcello,” she returned with a small smile, though she glanced at Alstro as her friend brought up the rear, eyebrows raised.

"He saw me struggling to get back with the groceries and offered to help," Alstro explained as they walked into the kitchen to lay down their items. "He said he knew you and was worried that you weren’t at work—again."

They exchanged a brief look, then Cosmos turned to Marcello as the man placed the bags carefully on the table.

“That boss of yours let you off again, eh?” he asked, turning to face her and dusting off his hands. “Not getting into trouble at work, are we, Cos?”

He winked, as though sharing a joke, but the smile Cosmos gave him was so tense it made her jaw ache. 

"No, not at all," Cosmos said, shaking her head and trying to ignore the dull throb of pain on her chest. "Thanks for helping Alstro. I feel bad now for not going with you," she added to her friend, frowning.

Alstro waved her hand airily. "Pssh. It was no big deal. I just got more than what you put on the list. Stupid stuff, really, but I figure we'll want it later."

The 'stupid stuff' ended up being two large tubs of ice cream, a bag of marshmallows, two boxes of graham crackers, a carton of chocolate bars, a plastic gallon bag of assorted candies, and a twelve pack of soda cans. 

"I'm going to give my dentist a heart attack because of you," Cosmos accused her friend, even as she opened the bag of candy and fished out a small box of lemon drops. 

"Hey, you pay an arm and a leg to go see him, might as well make him work for it," Alstro told her with a grin and a wink, snatching a lollipop for herself. Green apple flavored. 

"I really appreciate the help, Marcello," Cosmos said, offering the bag of candy towards the man, who waved it away but smiled heartily.

"It's fine, really," he assured her. "I was having so much fun talking to Alstro on the way back. Glad to see you’ve got a friend around, at least ‘til you find some other company, yeah?"

He gave her a deliberate look, and she felt her stomach twist. The last thing she wanted right now was Marcello’s input on men she should be seeing. 

"She’s good enough company for me,” said Cosmos firmly, forcing another smile.

Marcello raised his bushy eyebrows, then glanced suspiciously over at Alstro, who was calmly polishing off her lollipop. 

“I see,” he said, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

Alright, that was enough of that.

“Thanks again for the help, Marcello. I think we can take it from here,” she said as politely as she could manage, ushering him towards the door with one hand firmly on his elbow.

“Sure thing, Cos,” he said, still looking skeptically between her and Alstro. “You let me know if you need anything else, alright? I’m around.”

“Sure thing,” she echoed his words, and shut the door on him as soon as he was over the threshold. Sucking in a breath, she counted backwards from ten, and returned to the kitchen; fuming.

Alstro gave her a curious once over, then glanced through the window as Marcello passed it on his way down the street.

“He seemed nice enough,” she said mildly, twirling her lollipop between her teeth. 

“Yeah, he’s great,” muttered Cosmos, unbagging groceries with a little more force than was necessary and stuffing them into the fridge.

“You mean, when he’s not giving you dating tips?” guessed Alstro with a slight smirk.

“Yeah, which, unfortunately, is more than 90% of the time,” sighed Cosmos, pushing a hand through her hair as she straightened up and frowned at the kitchen table.

There was a long pause, in which Alstro contemplated her friend carefully, a slight frown on her face as well.

“I was thinking of something on the way back,” she said slowly, as though weighing her words before she said them. “Something Marcello said made me think of it.”

Cosmos glanced at her friend, a little warily. “Oh?” she prompted.

“He said the other day when you were hanging out at his stall, he asked about guys and you got all…oh, how did he put it…?” Alstro’s eyebrows knitted together as she tried to recall the phrase. “Hot and bothered? Something like that. Anyway, he said you’d told him when you wanted a man you’d go get one.”

“I did,” confirmed Cosmos, her frown deepening as her confusion grew. “Why? What’d that make you think of?”

Alstro seemed hesitant, and took her time finishing off her lollipop before answering. Her eyes were on her toes, and her frown was very pronounced.

“I was just thinking,” she murmured after a long pause, “You don’t normally go out of your way to say something…even when you’re really pissed off. You usually just let it go.”

Cosmos blinked. “I don’t follow,” she said, bemused.

“You told me you made a comment to Sephiroth after you saw him walk in when you and Jaila were getting into it,” Alstro explained, looking up and fixing her dark gaze on Cosmos. “It didn’t really occur to me until I was talking with Marcello that it was…I dunno…out of character for you?”

Cosmos felt her stomach lurch uncomfortably as she suddenly pieced together where Alstro was going.

“Why did you say anything to him?” Alstro questioned softly, not at all accusing, but more like she honestly for the life of her couldn’t figure it out. “You didn’t have to, and I think you knew that, but…I don’t know…it was like you were trying to get his attention?”

When Cosmos didn’t answer, Alstro hurriedly added, “Cos, I’m not saying in anyway I think you’re the reason this is all happening, because that’s not it. It’s just…it almost seems like, even subconsciously, you wanted Sephiroth’s attention…”

There was another long pause, and Cosmos looked steadily at the floor. Alstro shifted uncomfortably, but bit her lip to keep from saying anything else. She could see from Cosmos’s expression that her friend was thinking, and hard.

And Cosmos was thinking. Back to what Sephiroth had said to her the first time in his office…

_“Everything you do, even without thinking, I think about... Perhaps you weren't even aware… You probably didn't notice the lust in your eyes as you looked... I did...”_

She _had_ wanted his attention. She’d wanted him to notice her, but she’d just accepted he never would. Why would he have any reason to? He was a General. She was an office girl. It made no sense for him to notice her…but he had. He’d noticed her noticing him.

Had that been the trigger? Was he just acting on what he thought _she_ wanted? And she had wanted it at first, before the pain. Before then had been exactly what she’d fantasized about. She’d wanted it; wanted _him_. And he’d known that…

Her chest gave a dull throb, and she thoughtlessly lifted her hand to spread her palm across the spot; massaging absently.

Had he thought she’d wanted this, too? That she’d liked the pain? She hadn’t…

“Cos?”

Alstro’s voice jerked her from her reverie, and she turned almost hazily towards her friend, still caught up in thought. It was only when she was her friend’s dark eyes filled with concern that she really came all the way back down and managed to take a breath.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized quietly, “I was…thinking…”

Alstro shook her head wordlessly and stepped forward to hug her tightly. “Don’t be sorry, I said something stupid,” she muttered into Cosmos’s shoulder, squeezing her firmly.

“No, you didn’t,” Cosmos sighed, giving a weary smile. “Really.”

If anything, Alstro had just given her more to think about. Though at the moment Cosmos couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not.


	6. Chapter 6

    Saturday morning came with a kind of dreamlike haziness. At first, Cosmos didn't really register that it was the weekend, and laid in bed for a long moment, just staring at the ceiling. Maybe the two days off from work had left her feeling off-kilter, but she felt as though she needed to go somewhere, or do something. It didn't feel like a day to just lay in bed and do nothing...  
    Sighing, she pushed herself up in her bed, jamming the heels of her hands into her eyes, watching the white lights pop and dance behind her eyelids for a long moment before dropping her hands into her lap. She glanced down at Alstro, who was curled up in a ball beside her, still fast asleep. Her wavy brown hair was in disarray, covering her face, and Cosmos couldn't help but smile a little to watch her friend snore softly, one long strand of hair fluttering with every exhalation.   
    Sighing again, she slid out of bed, shivering a little as her feet hit the cool wooden floor, and got up, leaving Alstro asleep. She walked out of the room and to the kitchen, deciding to make herself a cup of cocoa while she was up. As she walked into the tiled kitchen, she looked over at the stove top clock, and was surprised to see it flashing 8:41. She normally never woke up so early on a weekend... Frowning, she glanced around, wondering if maybe something had woken her up, and saw the voicemail light on her phone flickering brightly; alerting her to the fact she had a message.   
    She walked over to check the machine, hitting the review button, and found that whoever had called, she had only just missed them. The record showed the last call to the house had been made at 8:38. So maybe that was what had woken her.   
    Sighing, she jabbed the playback button on the machine and walked back over to the pantry to dig out the cocoa mix while her machine rattled off its usual, pre-recorded message: ["You have…one…unheard message... First unheard message..."]  
    She paused to listen, and went tense to hear Lyra's voice on the machine.  
    ["Hey, Cosmos, it's Lyra. Sorry to call so early; you're probably still sleeping. Just calling to check on you and see if everything's okay. I wanted to ask if you think you'll be back to work on Monday? Let me know. By the way, I got a message from General Sephiroth asking for your home number. He said it had to do with some work you didn't manage to finish from yesterday and that he'd get in touch with you about it later. Just wanted to give you a heads up. Hope you feel better. Bye."]  
    The line clicked, and the machine rattled off a list of options from saving the message to deleting it to replaying it, but Cosmos wasn't listening. She was frozen on the spot, staring in disbelief at the phone. The tin of hot cocoa mix in her hand crinkled a bit as her fingers tightened around it until her knuckles turned white.   
    Sephiroth had gotten her number...he'd be calling later...   
    She set down the hot cocoa tin as her hands began to tremble slightly, and her stomach gave an unsettling lurch. She felt light-headed. Gods, why? Why did he have to call? What would he say?   
    She stuck her thumbnail into her mouth and began chewing on it anxiously, staring at the phone as she wrapped her other arm around herself, leaning back against the counter; mind reeling. Did she have to answer the phone? What if she didn't? Would he just leave a message and leave it at that? Or would he call repeatedly until she answered? Gods...what was she supposed to do?  
    She put her face in her hands, taking slow, deep breaths as her heart rate shot up.   
    "Cos?"  
    The sleepy voice came from the doorway, and she looked up to see Alstro standing there, arms stretched over her head, yawning immensely. Her hair was still a mess, but she at least looked well-rested and relaxed. Until she saw Cosmos's face, that was.   
    "What's up?" she asked immediately, walking over, her expression anxious. "Did you have a nightmare? I woke up and you weren't in bed."  
    "No, no," Cosmos said, shaking her head. "No, no nightmares...just...the phone woke me up...and I checked the messages."  
    Alstro frowned. "Did someone call from work?" she asked slowly, and Cosmos knew what her friend was getting at.   
    "Lyra, my boss," she explained, raising her hand to rub tiredly at her eyes, "She was asking if I was going to be back at work on Monday..."  
    Alstro waited, knowing there was more, but when Cosmos hesitated to speak anymore she prompted her.   
    "And?"   
    Cosmos chewed anxiously on her lower lip, not quite able to meet her friend's knowing gaze. "Sephiroth got in touch with her and asked for my home phone number...she said he was going to call later about the work I didn't get to do yesterday..."  
    Alstro's brown-gold eyes grew enormous, and her mouth fell slightly open. "Your boss gave him your number?" she demanded, sounding stunned. "Without your permission?"  
    "It's not like my number is confidential, Al," Cosmos pointed out quietly.   
    "No," agreed Alstro, looking unsettled, "But still!"  
    There was a pause, and Cosmos shrugged. "She doesn't know what happened between me and Sephiroth."  
    Alstro frowned, clearly unhappy, but didn't argue. "What are you going to do when he calls?"  
    Cosmos noticed she didn't even ask 'if' Sephiroth called. Just 'when'. They both knew it wouldn't be a matter of 'if'. Sephiroth _would_ call...  
    "I don't know," she admitted, pushing her hands through her hair, wincing as her fingers caught on tangles. "I thought I'd just let it go to voicemail and pretend like I'm too sick to answer."  
    "And if he calls again?" Alstro prompted. "Do you think he'd call again if you didn't answer?"  
    "I have no idea," Cosmos sighed, shrugging lamely and wrapping her arms around herself. She didn't want to think about what Sephiroth would do if she didn't answer. Calling again was the least he could do...she didn't want to think about the most he could do...  
    Alstro walked over to hug her shoulders gently, obviously trying to reassure her, even when her own expression was clearly uneasy, and she looked like she wanted to run off to hammer the door shut and bar the windows.   
    Instead, they both settled for making breakfast, and keeping one eye on the phone, even though neither of them spoke a word about it all through the morning. As though by forgetting it or avoiding the question, they could prevent the inevitable from happening. They made cocoa, eggs, bacon, and even some pancakes. Alstro dug out the new bottle of syrup she'd purchased at the grocery store the previous day, and they sat down to watch the news and eat.   
    "I swear," muttered Alstro, scowling at the TV as she watched a streaker running through a crowded marketplace with 'The End is Nigh!' painted across his scrawny chest. "What is it with these people?"  
    "I think they're bored," Cosmos said with a slight smirk as she watched the man get tackled to the ground by a couple of law enforcement officers and hauled off while still shouting about the impending apocalypse. "Some people just don't know how to have fun unless the world is ending."  
    Alstro snorted into her pancakes and rolled her eyes.   
    They continued to watch reports on the stock; Alstro noting how Cosmos didn't look at the TV while the news anchor discussed Shinra and its latest financial success in buying out one of their former competitors in the energy business. Once the news had switched over to the weather and how it was supposed to storm all day that day and the next, Alstro stretched immensely and yawned.   
    "I need to shower," she muttered, frowning down at her now empty plate.   
    "Then take a shower," suggested Cosmos with a grin. "I'm not going to stop you."  
    "But I don't want to go back upstairs," complained Alstro, slumping down in her chair and pouting. "I'll go if someone carries me."  
    "Sorry, hon, but I'm behind on my weight training," Cosmos teased, jokingly dangling her slender arms for emphasis. "If you want I can call Cloud."  
    "Who's Cloud?" Alstro blinked, looking interested.   
    "Guy at work," Cosmos said, shrugging. "He's a cadet-in-training with the SOLDIERs. He's a cutie."  
    "Oooh." Alstro grinned, a glint rooting in her eye. "How old is he?"  
    "Eighteen, I think."  
    "Oh." Alstro pouted again. "Nevermind. I don't date minors. Even if he’s not technically a minor anymore, 18 is pushing it."  
    Cosmos snickered as Alstro heaved herself up, with some reluctance, from her seat and took her plate to the sink.   
    "I'll be honest, though, a couple of the guys Marcello mentioned yesterday sounded kinda cute," Alstro admitted as she rinsed the syrup and egg residue off of her plate before sticking it into the dishwasher.   
    “Eh,” said Cosmos lamely.

    “Eh?” repeated Alstro incredulously. “’Eh’? That’s all you’ve got to say? Marcello’s throwing men at you hanky panky and your best comeback is ‘eh’?”

    Cosmos chucked her napkin at her friend, who ducked, snickering.

    “In case you hadn’t noticed, madam, men are the last thing I need to be worrying about right now,” Cosmos pointed out staunchly, turning her nose up.

    “Yeah, I’d say you’ve got your hands more than a little full in that department," agreed Alstro with a grimace, stretching again and heading towards the stairs. "I'm gonna take a shower, chicky. I'll try not to use up all the hot water."  
    "You could take a two hour shower and there'd still be hot water, Al, it's fine," laughed Cosmos, and Alstro grinned back at her.   
    "Awesome. See you in two hours," she joked, and made off towards the bathroom while Cosmos rolled her eyes and cleared her own place at the table.   
    As she was rinsing the dishes, she heard the bathroom door close, and a few moments later the water started running. She heaved a sigh, tucking her plate into the dishwasher and closing it, leaning back against the counter; eyes on the TV, though she wasn't really watching it.   
    It was nice having Alstro in the house with her. Maybe she was more tired of being alone in her own home than she'd realized... She'd thought a few times about getting a pet, but she knew she didn't have the time to invest in one, and she didn't want to get an animal just to leave it by itself almost the entire day everyday. That just didn't seem fair.   
    She thought for a moment, recalling what Alstro had told her the day before. They could move in together, if she wanted. Get a job together where Al was working, and she could quit Shinra... It was starting to sound better all the time...given the situation...  
    She dragged her hand through her hair again, her fingers catching in the tangles, and she pulled at them distractedly while she watched the TV. The meteorologist was going over the weekly forecast, and as she glanced out of the window she could see lightning flicker overhead, and thought she caught a distant rumble of thunder over the sound of the news anchor coming back on the screen. Well, she wouldn't be doing anything today, that was for sure...  
    She frowned, strangely disappointed. Maybe she was just anxious to be out of the house because, that way, when Sephiroth DID call, she had a valid excuse for not answering. But if she were really sick, she would be in bed, not outside in the rain running errands.   
    Resigning herself to the fact she was going to spend another day cooped up in her house, she went and made herself comfortable on the couch. No point in changing out of her pajamas if she was only going to be changing back into them tonight. Might as well be comfortable, she decided, sitting down and dragged one of the larger pillows to her, hugging it against her stomach. She nabbed the remote from the coffee table in front of her, and was just about to start flipping channels for something more entertaining to watch when her doorbell rang, startling her.   
    She nearly dropped the remote, but managed to catch it before it hurtled to the ground, though she banged her knuckles on the edge of the coffee table in the process. Muttering an oath under her breath, she dropped the remote on the couch, shaking out her now throbbing hand. She tossed the pillow aside and got to her feet as the doorbell rang again, still muttering under her breath as she examined her reddened knuckles.   
    She paused to look through the peephole on the door, and felt a jolt of surprise to see Marcello standing there, huddling under an umbrella much too small for his broad shoulders. She took a breath, unbolted the door, and opened it, trying to smile.   
    "Marello, hi," she greeted him, not sure if she was genuinely happy to see him or not.   
    Marcello returned the smile, teeth shining past his scruffy beard. "Mornin’, Cos. I hope you don't mind me barging in again, but...well, I was hoping we could talk."   
    That didn’t sound at all promising... Cosmos bit back a grimace and tried rapidly to think of an excuse not to let him in. When she couldn’t come up with one before the next rumble of thunder, she surrendered.  
    "Yeah, sure," she said, stepping out of the doorway to let him pass. “Come on in. You look soaked already.”  
    "Thanks," Marcello said gratefully as he crossed the threshold. He carefully shook out the umbrella over the door mat, then set it on the floor to dry.   
    Cosmos waited while he shrugged out of his coat and hung it on a hook by the door, then gestured towards the living room so they could take a seat. She had a sense of what was coming, and waited patiently while Marcello trudged over to seat himself on the couch, leaving her to curl up in one of the large armchairs she had; her feet tucked under her.   
    "So what's up?" she asked when he didn’t jump straight into conversation.   
    Marcello shifted his large frame on the couch, taking a little more time than was necessary to situate himself, then taking even more time to stroke his beard, all while completely avoiding her gaze.

    "So I was thinking about yesterday,” he admitted finally, leaning forward with his elbows propped up on his knees, frowning at Cosmos, but keeping his expression friendly and open. "About something you said."  
    Cosmos raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” she said.

    Marcello nodded rather solemnly, his beard twitching as he seemed to contemplate his next words. “I know I’ve been pushing the issue of men lately, and I hope you know it’s only because I worry about being alone so often,” he said.

    “Sure,” she said automatically, though she felt a familiar twinge of annoyance. This topic was getting really old really fast…

    “Well, it occurred to me yesterday,” he went on, leaning a bit more towards her and looking imploring, “That I may have upset you.”

    “Oh…um…” Well, he wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. “It’s…not a problem, really.”

    Marcello squinted at her, his crinkly eyes shrewd. “Don’t give me that, Cosmos, I know better,” he scolded. “Now hear me out. Yesterday you said your friend, uh…”

    “Alstro,” Cosmos supplied.

    “Yes, Alstro,” Marcello nodded firmly, “You said she was company enough for you. And it occurred to me yesterday that…well…maybe there’s…more going on than I realized.”

    He stared at her for a moment, and she stared back at him, uncomprehending.

    “I…don’t think I follow,” she said after a long pause.

    Marcellow’s bushy brows slanted down. “I know it’s really none of my business,” he said, “But I want to make sure you’ve got someone looking out for you, you know? So…I just want to ask…”

    He shifted again, the couch creaking slightly under his weight as he fixed her with a steady gaze.

    “Are you and Alstro…” he started, then paused, seeming to search for the right word, “Dating? Yeah, dating. The two of you?”

    Cosmos actually felt her jaw unhinge, and couldn’t quite stop it from falling open in shock. She also couldn’t help the short laugh of surprise that came out.

    “No,” she said, trying not to laugh again, “No, not even close.”

    Marcello looked surprised. “Really?” he said, frowning. “You two seemed…I dunno. A little closer than normal.”

    “I’ve known Alstro for ages, but not like that,” Cosmos said, shaking her head. “I like men. I just don’t want one right now. As I’m sure I’ve said.”

    She pinned him with a hard look, and he gave a sheepish grin past his beard.

    “I know, I know,” he said, putting up his hands in surrender. “I know I keep nagging, but I do worry, Cos. It’s not good to be so alone. I know you’ve got your friend here and she’s a great girl from what I can tell, but…sometimes a person needs more than friendship, y’know?”

    “I’m happy, Marcello,” she told him softly, fixing him with a steady look. “I really don’t want a man in my life right now.”

    Marcello bobbed his head in a nod, but she could tell he didn’t agree with her. At least he seemed to have the sense not to push the issue further because he leaned back on the couch and turned his attention to the TV.

    “Huh,” he said, eyebrows shooting up as he looked at the screen.

    “What?” Cosmos looked around as well, and felt her spine stiffen automatically as a pair of blue-green eyes stared back at her. Even after the camera had zoomed out from Sephiroth’s image and the anchor reappeared on the screen, it took her a few extra seconds to unfreeze.

    “I keep forgetting he looks like that,” Marcello said, nodding to Sephiroth’s figure. “Big fella, isn’t he?”

    “Yeah,” Cosmos said in a small voice. She tried to look away from the TV, but for some reason didn’t seem able to.

    Briefly, she thought back to Lyra’s voicemail and glanced towards the phone, perched on the end table just a few feet away. A part of her was tempted to pick it up and check it, and the other part was just as tempted to take the battery out and leave it off for the rest of the day. How long would it be until Sephiroth called? If he _did_ call…

    Marcello cleared his throat, and she stared, turning her attention back to him as he raised his thick eyebrows.

    “Sorry, did you say something?” she asked, blinking rapidly.

    “Just saying that I hear a lot of ladies at the newsstand gossiping about him,” he said, nodding towards the TV screen again.

    “Oh?” Cosmos tried to look interested, but she could see the phone out of her peripheral vision and her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch.

    “Yeah.” Marcello eyed Sephiroth for a moment, looking thoughtful. “You work for Shinra, right, Cosmos?”

    Oh, she did _not_ like where this was going… She almost wished they were still talking about men. Any other men.

    “Yeah,” she answered with a forced smile, “I do.”

    Marcello gestured towards the TV. “You ever seen the General in person?”  
    Cosmos hesitated, not sure if she wanted to answer the question, but just as she decided she might as well, the phone went off. She tensed, her gaze jumping to the flashing device sitting on the end table just a few feet away, and her heart stopped beating momentarily, leaving her breathless and nauseous as her stomach bunched in knots.   
    Marcello looked over curiously at the device, then at Cosmos as she sat rigid in her seat, not making a move to answer it, even as it rang a second time, then a third.   
    "Do you want me to get it?" he asked, leaning forward as though to pick it up.  
    "No," said Cosmos, a little more quickly than she'd meant to, and averted her gaze. "They can leave a message."  
    "You sure?" he asked as the phone continued to go off.   
    She nodded curtly, not able to look at him, almost afraid of what Marcello might see in her face if she looked at him. He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but Marcello was no fool either. He’d know if something was wrong…   
    The ringing cut off, and silence fell, and as they sat there, Cosmos heard the door upstairs to the bathroom open.  
    "Cos?" Alstro called. "Did the doorbell ring?"  
    "Yes, it did," Cosmos called back, glad for the distraction, "Marcello’s here."  
    There was a pause, and Cosmos just knew Alstro was wrapping herself in a towel. They'd spent enough time around each other that public nudity wasn't that big of a deal, but having guests over changed the setup a little bit.   
    "Be right down, then," Alstro called, and the door clicked shut again.  
    "Alstro's still here?" Marcello asked, smiling. "Has she moved in with you, then?"  
    Cosmos shook her head. "She's just spending the night for a few days," she explained, still not looking at him.   
    There was a pause, and then Marcello leaned forward. "Is there something going on, Cos?” he asked gently.   
    When she tensed and didn't answer, his eyes narrowed.   
    "Cosmos,” he murmured, “Are you okay?”  
    "Fine," she answered, eyes on the floor.   
    "I hate to tell you, Cos, but you don’t look ‘fine’," he told her, sounding amused, but also worried. "Are you sick? You look a little pale."  
    She chewed on her lower lip and shrugged. “I’ve been feeling a little weird today…”

    Marcello nodded slowly, but she couldn’t quite make out his expression behind the beard. She didn’t quite like how intent his eyes felt on her, though, like he was trying to see through her.

    “Well, maybe I should head out so you can get some rest,” he said at last, planting his hands on his knees and heaving himself to his feet. “You have the day off anyway, right? You should rest up so you can work hard when you get back. Impress that boss of yours.”

    She didn’t know what did it, but the minute the words left Marcello’s mouth all she could see in her mind’s eye was Sephiroth’s office. Being pressed into a cold, hard surface.

    She lifted her hand without thinking and pressed down hard on her collarbone, feeling a dull throb in response as her fingers dug in.

    “You okay, Cos?” Marcello asked, not missing the motion, or the way she was practically gnawing her lip off as she stared at the floor.   
    The sound of the bathroom door opening again gave her an excuse to be distracted--or at least to pretend to be--and she craned her head around to look as Alstro came down the stairs; her hair damp and a towel around her shoulders. She was back in her pajama pants, like Cosmos, but wore a tank top rather than her sleep shirt.   
    She stopped short when her eyes landed on Cosmos’s hand, and her eyes narrowed slightly.  
    "Hey, Marcello,” she said without missing a beat, coming the rest of the way down the stairs and gliding over to stand beside Cosmos, “How’s it going?”  
    "Well enough,” Marcello said, briefly distracted as he smiled at Alstro. “Good to see you again.”  
    "You, too," Alstro told him with a grin of her own, settling onto the floor in front of Cosmos's chair, using the towel to dry her hair. "So, what can we do for you, sir?"  
    "Well, I was coming to nag Cosmos about her man troubles again,” Marcello admitted with a shrug and a helpless smile, “But I think I’ve been effectively shut down for the day."  
    He glanced at Cosmos, who was rubbing absently at her chest, and he frowned. 

    “Your chest hurting you, Cos?”   
    "That would be my fault,” Alstro piped up before Cosmos could answer, “We’ve been sharing the bed and I’m a restless sleeper. I sort of socked it to her last night. In my defense, I was fighting ninjas.”

    Marcello chuckled. “Well, I’m glad it’s nothing serious. I still think you ought to be taking a rest, though, Cosmos. You do look a little off.”

    Cosmos forced herself to look up at him and managed a small smile. “I will. Thanks, Marcello.”

    He nodded and plodded over to pat her gently on the back, then nodded briefly to Alstro before heading for the door.

    “If you need anything, you know where to find me,” he said as he shrugged back into his coat and picked up his umbrella.

    “We do indeed,” Alstro said, waving as he opened the door to the pouring rain. “Stay dry!”

    “I’ll try,” he said with a chortle, opening his tiny umbrella and hustling out into the storm.

    When the door had closed behind him, Alstro frowned and turned her head to look at Cosmos, who was still cupping a hand over her collarbone.

    “You alright, hon?” she asked eventually, reaching out to touch Cosmos’s knee.

    Cosmos hesitated, then gave a lame shrug. “I don’t know,” she admitted, looking over at her cellphone. “I think I’m just freaking out.”

    Alstro nodded slowly, looking at the phone as well, her eyebrows furrowed. Cosmos finally lowered her hand from her chest, and began to pluck at a loose string on her shirt.  
    There was a long pause as Alstro stared at the phone, and Cosmos continued to twirl the loose strand of thread around and around her finger. During that pause, the phone rang again, and Cosmos and Alstro both tensed. Alstro's gaze flew around to fix on Cosmos's face at the same time Cosmos glanced at her, and they exchanged a silent understanding. No one was going to touch the phone.   
    “You think it’s him?” Alstro asked, though it didn’t really need to be said.   
    Cosmos sighed, lifting her hands--her right forefinger now sporting lines from the string--and jamming the heels of her hands into her eyes, trying to block out the sound of the ringing phone long enough to think. She didn't even know for sure if it was Sephiroth calling...but she wasn't going to risk it... If it was him, she didn't want to talk to him...she couldn't... She didn't even know how to talk to him in person; let alone on a phone...  
    The ringing stopped, and her voicemail beeped; indicating it had picked up a message. She realized it hadn't the first time...   
    Then, from upstairs, she heard her cellphone go off.   
    "Jeez," muttered Alstro, craning her neck to stare up the steps towards the bedroom where the ringing was coming from. 

    “Maybe I should just answer it,” Cosmos sighed, though she made no move to get out of her seat. “He knows I’m supposed to be home anyway.”

    “No, you shouldn’t,” said Alstro firmly, fixing her with a look. “You leave that phone alone and let him call all he wants. He also knows you’re supposed to be sick and should be resting.”

    Except neither of them really knew if it was Sephiroth calling. Cosmos didn’t know his number. For all she knew, it was the pizza place down the block asking if she wanted to redeem a coupon or something. She snorted at the very idea. Yeah, right… She should be so lucky.

    Sighing, she tucked her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on top of them, and turned her attention to the TV. The anchor was still going on with his report. In the top right corner of the screen, Sephiroth’s face stared back at her, his gaze no less intense than it was in person.

    A shiver ran the length of her spine and her toes curled in the chair’s cushion. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she went back to massaging her collarbone. The bruise under her fingers pulsed, and for a brief moment she had the phantom sensation of lips ghosting over her skin, raising goosebumps on her arms.

    “You okay?” Alstro asked gently, her dark brown eyes even darker with concern.

    Cosmos hesitated before answering, because she wasn’t even sure what the truth was at the moment. “I don’t know,” she said eventually, shrugging.

    There was a beat of silence, and then the phone gave a shrill ring.

    “Are you serious?” demanded Alstro, glaring at the device.

    Cosmos sighed, reaching for it. If Sephiroth was this determined, she might as well get it over with. But Alstro beat her to it, snatching the phone out of reach and squinting at the caller ID.

    “Unlisted number,” she muttered.

    “Answer it,” Cosmos ordered.

    Alstro frowned, looking uncertain, but pressed the glowing green ‘Accept’ button and held the phone to her ear.

    “Hello?” she said. Her eyebrows knitted together as a voice spoke on the other end. “May I ask who’s calling?”

    Cosmos waited while the caller said something else, and blinked in surprise when Alstro held out the phone to her.

    “She said her name is Lyra?” Alstro said when Cosmos merely stared at her.

    Cosmos stared a moment longer, then took the phone and brought it to her ear. “Hello?”


	7. Chapter 7

    “Cosmos?” Lyra sounded almost uncertain.

    “Lyra, hi,” Cosmos greeted her.

    “Hi,” said Lyra, relief apparent in her voice, “I thought maybe I’d gotten the number wrong at first.”

    “No, my friend is staying over for the weekend since I’m sick,” Cosmos explained while Alstro went back to toweling her hair dry.

    “Good,” Lyra said, “How are you feeling, by the way? You sound a little tired still.”

    "I'm still feeling a little off," Cosmos lied. 

    If Lyra wanted to say she sounded tired, she'd take it. Any excuse to be sickly was fine by her right now. 

    “I called earlier, but I thought I’d call again just in case you weren’t up to checking your messages,” Lyra added. “I left a voicemail saying General Sephiroth was planning on calling.”

    “Yeah, I got the message this morning,” Cosmos said, exchanging a quick glance with Alstro. “Did you tell him I was sick?”

    “Yes. He actually came and asked me yesterday if something was wrong since you weren’t at work,” Lyra admitted.

    Cosmos paused. “He did?” she said, feeling her stomach do an odd twist.

    “Mm-hmm.” Lyra sounded almost satisfied by the fact. “I really think he’s interested in you, Cosmos. He doesn’t normally check in about regular office workers.”

    Cosmos suppressed a snort. Yeah, well…Sephiroth also probably didn’t normally carry on in his office with regular office workers, either. Otherwise Jaila would have a lot less to complain about and a lot less to hate Cosmos for.  

    “Well, I’m…flattered he asked,” she said after a moment, not knowing what else she _could_ say.

    Alstro raised an eyebrow at her, looking bemused, but Cosmos merely shook her head.

    “I think he’s anxious to see you back on Monday,” Lyra added, with almost the exact same note of hopeful prodding that Cosmos was getting used to hearing from Marcello.

    “Maybe,” Cosmos said without much enthusiasm, rolling her eyes at the ceiling. He was _anxious_ to see her. Sure…

    “Anyway, I don’t want to keep you for too long,” Lyra plowed on hurriedly, maybe sensing she was losing Cosmos’s interest, “But I didn’t think this should wait until Monday. Jaila filed a complaint yesterday.

    Cosmos blinked, and for a moment all her anxiety and fear melted away to be replaced with cold anger, and she balled her hands into fists at her sides. 

    "A complaint for what?" she asked coolly. 

    There was an uncomfortable pause on the other end.

    "She says you aren't pulling your weight at work and we should consider moving you to another department," sighed Lyra, sounding resigned, and Cosmos could imagine the woman rolling her eyes. 

    Cosmos wanted to hit something. "Wow, I'm impressed she actually had the gall to say that to someone instead of just thinking it to herself."

    Lyra gave a quickly stifled snort of amusement and cleared her throat. 

    "You know I'm right," Cosmos pointed out dully, slouching back in her seat. "When does Jaila ever pull _her_  weight at work? Did she even get caught up on the work she missed the two days Sephiroth sat us out of work? Or was she too busy spreading new rumors about me to finish?"

    "You know I can't answer that, Cosmos," sighed Lyra wearily.

    "Which means yes," guessed Cosmos. 

    "Don't let it get to you," Lyra tried to assure her. 

    "But it _does_  get to me, Lyra," Cosmos said quietly, frowning, her eyebrows pulling together as anger simmered under her skin. "She says all sorts of horrible nasty things to me, never gets her work done, and then has the absolute gall to come to you and file a complaint to get ME moved. I could probably report her to the Worker's Welfare office for harassment, if not verbal abuse."

    Lyra was quiet for a moment, and Cosmos balled her free hand into a fist, feeling irritation prick at her nerves.

    Finally, Lyra said, "I know it's a problem, and I'm going to deal with it. I'm not even going to bother filing this complaint. I just had to let you know; it's part of procedure. Plus, I wanted to give you the chance to file your own complaint if you wanted."

    "You already know all of my complaints," sighed Cosmos, massaging her throbbing temple. "And you know I'm not the only one who has them. If anyone needs to get moved, it's Jaila. I honestly don't care that she's been there five plus years. She can't keep acting like this just because she thinks she's entitled as a senior worker."

    As she said the words though, she wasn't seeing Jaila in her mind's eye, but a senior worker even higher than her... Sephiroth. She felt confident enough to tell Lyra that Jaila needed to be dealt with for bullying and abuse...but not enough to say a word about Sephiroth... Why? She had as much right to turn in Sephiroth as she did Jaila. But just the thought of doing it put a bitter taste in her mouth. She swallowed hard to get rid of it.  

    "Well, I'll deal with her when I get back to work on Monday," Lyra said. "I think you're right, though. She's...got a lot of problems that need to be sorted out..."

    Cosmos nodded, not really listening now. She was getting lost in her own thoughts again. 

    "Well, if there's anything you need, call me, alright?" Lyra asked gently. "By the way, has General Sephiroth called you yet?" 

    Cosmos knew Lyra couldn’t sense how tense she got, but she knew Alstro sensed it, even as she forced herself to shake her head and calmly reply, "No, not yet. I figure he will later, when he thinks I might be awake. It is still early." Her voice gave the faintest of tremors as she spoke and she mentally winced, waiting for Lyra to say something.

    "True," agreed Lyra thoughtfully. She hadn't noticed that Cosmos was tense, or uneasy. "Well, I'll let you go then. You rest up. Call me if you don't think you can make it in to work on Monday, alright? You've got plenty of vacation days stacked up if you need the time off, so don't worry. I'll get someone to take over whatever work needs doing while you're gone, okay?"

    "Make Jaila do it," suggested Cosmos with a humorless smile. 

    Lyra gave a short laugh. "We'll see," she said, clearly amused, though there was a half-hearted note of censure in her tone. "Take care, alright?"

    “I will. Thanks, Lyra.” 

    The line disconnected, and Cosmos handed the phone to Alstro to set on the coffee table. There was a long silence, and then Cosmos heaved a sigh and dropped her head back against the armchair. So on top of dreading Monday because of Sephiroth, now she had to worry about Jaila’s formal complaint. Fantastic. She groaned, jamming the heels of her hands against her eyes and rubbing furiously. 

    They sat quietly for a moment, and then Alstro sighed. "So, what’s new?"

    Cosmos snorted derisively. “Jaila wants me moved and Sephiroth is ‘anxious to see me back on Monday’,” she said dully.

    Alstro gave a scoff of her own, narrowing her dark eyes. “Yeah, I’ll bet he is,” she muttered, shaking her head in obvious disgust. “And Jaila’s that wench of a woman always on your case, right?”

    “Yep.” Cosmos dropped her hands, staring up blearily at the ceiling. “Apparently, she wants me moved because I don’t do my job and I’m always slacking.”

    “Wooooow,” said Alstro, pausing midway through scrubbing her curls to look up at Cosmos in disbelief. “She actually said that?”

    “Not in so many words, but that’s the gist of it anyway.”

    “Ya know, I’m thinking you’d like working with me and the others more and more.”

    Cosmos gave her friend a small smile and nudged her with her foot. Alstro mumbled and gave a half-hearted swat at her calf.

    Cosmos knew she was being serious. Alstro might pretend to joke, but she knew better. Alstro wanted her out of Shinra, and not just because of Sephiroth, though that was most definitely 90% of the problem. And speaking of Sephiroth... She frowned at the phone on the table, not sure whether she was relieved or more anxious that he still hadn’t called yet. Then she thought about her cell phone upstairs. Lyra had called the house, obviously, but had she been the one to call the cell, too? Or had that been the General? 

    Lyra had said Sephiroth had asked for her home phone number, not her cell number, but maybe Lyra had given him both, just in case... Sighing, she got to her feet, deciding to go check.

    “Where are you going?” Alstro asked, surprised as she scuttled out of the way for Cosmos to step around her.

    “My cell phone went off earlier, remember?”

    “Yeah, I do, and I also remember telling you that you don’t need to be answering the phone,” Alstro said, on her feet in an instant and following close behind Cosmos as she started for the stairs. “ _Especially_ if it’s _him_.”

    “If he already called and I didn’t answer, I don’t see him calling again,” Cosmos pointed out as she trudged upstairs. “Otherwise he’d have called the house.”

    “Wasn’t he supposed to call the house in the first place?” Alstro hedged, looking uncomfortable as they entered the bedroom and Cosmos walked over to her purse. “Why would he call your cell number?”

    Cosmos shrugged as she dug in the bag until she retrieved her phone and noted the notification light was blinking frantically. She flipped open her phone. She had one missed call, and one new text message. Frowning, she marched back out of the room and down to the living room, seizing the landline phone from the coffee table and pulling up the phone number that had called before Lyra. It didn't match the one on her cell. And the number that had called was also the number that had texted her. Frowning, her heart tightening slightly, she opened the text--seeing as how there was no voicemail to listen to. It contained only two lines.

    ["Please return call at earliest opportunity. -Sephiroth"]

    Her fingers felt numb as she gripped the phone, and she actually did drop the house phone, which thumped lamely into the couch cushions. 

    "Cos?" Alstro had noticed her rigidity and her undoubtedly white face, and leaned close, looking anxiously down at the phone in her friend's hand. Her eyes widened when she saw the message. "He _did_  call you... But I thought you said your boss only gave him your home phone number."

    "That's what she said on the answering machine this morning," Cosmos said quietly, still staring down at the short text message on her phone screen. "But...I wondered if maybe she gave him both anyway..."

    "But why did _she_  call you on the house phone and he called you on your cell phone?" Alstro pushed, looking unnerved. "That's a little weird, isn't it?"

    Cosmos couldn't honestly say she knew whether it was or not. For all she knew, Sephiroth just assumed the quickest way to get ahold of her was to call her cellphone. She was sure that was how the rest of his colleagues and other coworkers were. Not many people these days, and especially not her age, had a landline in their homes. She did it to save on her cellphone bill, and especially because she didn't want to have to deal with 20+ people calling her on her cellphone while she was busy. It was easier to have them leave a message on her home answering machine and get to it later. But maybe he'd guessed that... Maybe he'd wanted to be sure she couldn't ignore his message. 

    The thought made her want to run to the nearest bathroom, because her stomach was starting to turn itself in knots again, but she could only find the strength to sit motionless on the couch, staring at the tiny line of text gleaming up at her at her phone. Completely harmless, but totally threatening. Her hands were starting to shake the longer she held on to the cellphone, and she had the sudden urge to hurl it across the room and smash it against the wall.

    "Don't call him, Cosmos," Alstro pleaded, looking just as anxious as Cosmos felt as she leaned in towards her friend, her eyes wide and her eyebrows knitted together. 

    "I have to," said Cosmos weakly, but she didn't want to. 

    She'd rather do anything than call Sephiroth back. Run into the street during rush hour, take a walk on the train tracks right as the trolley came back into the station, pet the alligator that lived in the sewage dump a few blocks away... Anything...

    But just because she wished it didn't mean it was going to happen, and she knew she would have to call Sephiroth back at some point. The longer she delayed, the worse it would be... She couldn't even be sure he was calling for anything other than the work she'd failed to do. After all, she _had_  done work for him on Thursday, before  _that_ had happened... The bruise on her neck throbbed slightly as the memory threatened to resurface, and she quickly tamped it down, biting down on her lower lip as she forced herself to press the necessary keys on her phone to call back the number that had sent the text message. 

    Alstro sat watching her, just as white and worried as she was, and Cosmos got the feeling if her friend received any indication that the phone conversation was turning ugly, Alstro would grab the phone right out of her hands and chuck it in the trash herself. 

    Taking a deep breath as the phone screen lit up, showing the call was connecting, she lifted the speaker to her ear and waited, her heart seeming to accelerate with every ring that vibrated in her ear. She glanced over at Alstro, who reached out to touch her shoulder reassuringly, and she tried to manage a smile. The phone continued to ring dully, and the more rings that came and went, the more anxious she got, until she was twisting her free hand in the hem of her shirt and chewing uncontrollably at her lower lip until it felt raw. 

    Maybe he wouldn't answer...maybe he was away from the phone or desk or wherever he'd called her from and she could just leave a message for him to call back and then pray he wouldn't. Maybe she'd even dialed the wrong number. Maybe she'd get to an operator who needed an extension she didn't have and that would be that... 

    Unfortunately, 'maybe' didn't amount to much when one was dealing with General Sephiroth. No sooner had she thought of every possible 'maybe' in the world that would prevent him from answering then the line clicked, and there was a brief pause before a male voice answered.

    "Yes?"

    Even over the phone, there was no mistaking his voice, and Cosmos felt her stomach sink to her toes before it seemed to dissolve, and she had to work very hard not to drop the phone as her hands shook even worse. 

    Yet in the back of her mind, a kind of calm had settled and was taking over, so she went on autopilot as she gripped the phone so hard her knuckles turned white, and said, "General Sephiroth, this is Cosmos Rielle. I received your message and was returning your call."

    There was a pause, and she held her breath, wondering if maybe, in her state of near-hysteria, she had mistaken the speaker on the other end of the phone and was about to be told she had the wrong number. 

    "I attempted to reach you yesterday at the office and was informed by your supervisor that you weren't feeling well," he said then, and she felt her heart give an unpleasant throb. 

    "Yes, sir," she responded, because what else could she say? "I apologize for failing to come in to finish the work."

    "It's not a problem," he said calmly, "It will still be there on Monday, or do you expect to be out of work until later in the week? Your supervisor made it sound as though you might not be back immediately."

    Cosmos closed her eyes, sending a silent prayer of gratitude to Lyra for thinking to tell Sephiroth she might not be back to work on Monday. It gave her an excuse to bail out of yet another workday. 

    "I'm not sure yet, sir," she said as calmly as she could manage, wondering if her voice was shaking as badly as the rest of her body, "I'm still not feeling very well."

    "Well, then I will hold it until you can return," he said, and she felt her previously dissolved stomach make a brief reappearance to turn itself in a series of knots as her mind turned his words a thousand different ways in her head. 

    He'd hold the work until she could come back. He wouldn't pass it on to someone else to finish on time... He wanted HER to finish it... Which meant he wanted her back in his office... For what? A further assault?

    Feeling her mouth becoming dry, she swallowed hard, and tried to speak, "I wouldn't want to hold up work, sir. Would it be possible to hand it off to someone else?"

    "No," he answered, and said nothing else.

    She felt absolutely ill now, and it must have showed because she sensed Alstro shifting closer to her, almost like she wanted to put herself between Cosmos and Sephiroth in any way she could. 

    "Alright, sir. I'm not sure if I'll be back to work at the beginning of the week, though," she said, and knew her voice was starting to shake because she could feel her throat constricting. 

    She wondered if he could hear the anxiety in her voice; maybe he could even feel it radiating off of her and through the phone, as stupid as the idea was. He seemed to know everything after all...would it really be such a stretch?

    "Whenever you get back, it will be waiting for you," he assured her coolly, and she felt a shiver run the length of her spine. 

    "Yes, sir," she said quietly, closing her eyes and sinking back into the couch cushions, wishing she could just sink through them and disappear. 

    There was a pause on the other end of the line, and she wondered if he was waiting for her to hang up, and she was just about to when he said, "I expect you need to rest. If you don't anticipate being available to work on Monday, call."

    "I'll let my supervisor know, sir," Cosmos replied, knowing full and well he didn't mean for her to call Lyra, but she was going to make a stand if she could. "I'll ask her to let you know."

    There was a pause again, and she got the sudden, ominous sense that he was not at all happy with her response. A chill slid down her spine, and she leaned towards Alstro, who put an arm around her shoulders. 

    "I expect to hear from you directly, Miss Rielle," he said softly, and she sucked in a breath. "Is that clear?"

    She wanted to hang up, just to show him how 'clear' he was, but her fingers wouldn't unclench from around the phone enough for her to jab the 'end' button. Besides that, she knew she'd never be able to work up the gall to ever hang up on him... So she merely took a slow, steadying breath, trying to ignore the churning in her stomach.

    "Yes, sir," she answered quietly.

    "Get some rest," he instructed, and she nodded helplessly, realizing a second later he couldn't see her, but before she could answer the line had clicked, and gone dead as he hung up. 

    She lowered the phone numbly as the dial tone sounded dimly in her ear, and stared down at the blank screen for a long moment. It wasn't until Alstro reached forward to gently detach the phone from her grip that she finally let her fingers unfold from it, and Alstro flipped it shut and set it aside, out of reach, before hugging Cosmos tightly.

    "You're quitting your fucking job this weekend," Alstro said gruffly into her shoulder, and Cosmos get the feeling her friend was on the verge of tears. "I don't give a fuck what they think. I'll call Nero in a bit and get you set up. Call out sick for two weeks. Your boss even said you had plenty of vacation time to take off if you needed it."

    Cosmos didn't even nod, because she didn't know if she really agreed. How could she just chicken out and take two weeks off over a fake illness, just to get away from Sephiroth? Besides, he would know. He would know immediately and then what? Even if she didn't work for Shinra, he could track her down, find her, make her life a living hell if he wanted...he'd probably done it before... How many women had gone through this, she wondered numbly? How many others had he done this to? She found it hard to believe she was the only one...but maybe she was. Maybe she was that unlucky soul that just happened to attract his attention...

    Her temples were starting to throb again, and she knew she was starting to overthink again. She needed to stop doing that, but with everything that was happening, what was she supposed to do? None of this made any sense at all... His behavior, especially, was still beyond anything she could understand... She knew the General was prided on being one of the most determined and persevering in SOLDIER, and possibly even in all of Shinra, so his single-mindedness was no surprise, but why was he fixated on her? What had she done?

    It all went back to that moment during her confrontation with Jaila, but even that didn't seem like enough to trigger a reaction in someone as removed and professional as Sephiroth. Especially not one so...passionate? No...that made it sound romantic. Brazen, maybe... Rough, for certain. 

    Sighing, feeling her eyes burning with tears, she buried her face in Alstro's shirt and stood there for a long moment, trying not to think. She didn't want to think of Sephiroth anymore. She just wanted to go back to her life before. Before the General had decided she was worth noticing... 

    "I think you should call someone," Alstro said after a few more minutes of sitting in silence, hugging Cosmos. "I really do, Cos. This isn't okay. I wasn't around the first two times any of this crap happened, but I heard him on the phone just now and this is not anywhere near okay anymore. It wasn't before, but now I _know_  it's not fucking okay... Call Lyra. Tell her. If you don't want to, I will. This has to stop."

    Tell Lyra, huh… It sounded so easy, but Cosmos couldn’t even begin to imagine how the hell she’d start the conversation with her supervisor. What would she even say if she DID get the conversation started? That the star General of Shinra was harassing her? That she was skipping work and pretending to be sick because he’d bitten the hell out of her neck just for refusing to wear a skirt? Yeah, that’d go over well, she thought bitterly.

    She groaned, pulling away from Alstro to scrub her hands over her face.

    Alstro rubbed her arms soothingly, but her expression was still distressed, and her dark eyes glittered with obvious fear.

    “Cos,” she said urgently when Cosmos didn’t make a move to pick up the phone.

    Cosmos merely jerked her shoulders in a sort-of shrug and looked away. “What the hell would I even tell her, Alstro?”

    “That’s he’s molesting you, for starters,” Alstro said sharply.

    Cosmos paused, frowning at the floor. Molesting? Was that what he was doing? She guessed it was…sort of. For some reason, when she actually thought about his actions and tried to put the word to it, it just didn’t seem to fit at all… Molesting made her think of some filthy scumbag in an alley, pushing up a woman’s skirt and fondling her, or ripping her shirt open to feel under her bra. Molestation sounded…repulsive, maybe even clumsy in a way—fumbling with buttons and buckles to get through clothes. Something rushed and desperate. Sephiroth hadn’t been rushed, and he certainly hadn’t been clumsy. He hadn’t even tried to remove her clothes…at least not entirely. He’d unbuttoned her shirt to bite her, but it wasn’t like he’d taken the thing off of her… And he certainly hadn’t put his hands anywhere they didn’t really belong… Now that she thought about it, aside from putting his mouth on her neck a few times, he’d never once touched her intimately, unless you counted him pinning her hands but that seemed less intimate and more…something else.

    She sighed and buried her head in her hands, her head throbbing painfully. She was thinking too hard again. The simple state of things was that Sephiroth was molesting her. No ‘ifs’, ‘ands’, or ‘buts’ about it. But even as she thought it, it felt wrong...

    “Cosmos,” Alstro murmured, gently gripping her by the shoulders, “Please. PLEASE call Lyra.”

    “I…” Cosmos hesitated, not even sure what to say. She stood there lamely, her mouth half open, struggling to find the words. “Yeah…okay…”

    She picked up the house phone, and stared down at the keypad for a long moment. The numbers printed on it looking almost alien for some reason. 

    Alstro started to reach forward to take it, but Cosmos drew back, shaking her head. 

    "I'll call her," she said, clutching the phone almost defensively against her chest. 

    Alstro nodded, looking anxious, and watched as Cosmos walked into the kitchen, already pulling up Lyra’s number from ‘recent calls’.

    As Cosmos leaned one hip against the counter, she wondered what she could even say to Lyra… Somehow, she got the feeling she’d have to lead into the Sephiroth conversation, rather than jumping straight in. After all, she’d just gotten off the phone with her earlier pretending to be sick and that everything was fine… And Lyra had no reason to suspect she was lying. Cosmos pressed a finger to her temple as it pulsed unpleasantly. That might even make it worse… If she admitted she’d lied about being sick, what reason would Lyra have for believing what she said about Sephiroth? Hell, maybe she’d even think Jaila was telling the truth about Cosmos after all…

    Now she wanted to make the call even less than when she’d first picked up the phone… But Alstro was waiting in the living room, and she would hear whether Cosmos spoke on the phone…or not.

    She hesitated a moment longer, staring at Lyra’s number, then hit 'send', put the phone to her ear, and closed her her eyes; taking a deep breath as she listened to the line connecting. There was a brief pause, and then the ringing started. Just as before, she felt anxiety bunching in her gut, and pressed her free hand in a fist against her stomach, trying to alleviate the sensation. She took slow breaths, trying to convince herself that this was not something to be afraid of. That Lyra was a friend—as well as her supervisor—concerned for her safety like Alstro was. That she wanted to help... That she was not like Sephiroth...

    The line clicked after the fourth ring, and she tensed automatically before a familiar voice answered. "Hello?"

    "Hi, Lyra?"

    "Yes?"

    She exhaled a sigh of relief, at the same time feeling nervous, "It's Cosmos."

    "Hey," she said, and Cosmos could detect the change in her tone. From curious to serious. “Is everything okay?"

    "I...uh...just wanted to tell you..." she managed to stammer out. “Uh…Sephi—I mean…General Sephiroth just called…”

    "Okay," Lyra said, and there was a note of confusion to her voice, "Did he talk to you about the work he wanted done?"

    "Uh...yeah…" Her voice was shaking again, and she pressed harder on her stomach as it started to clench painfully. This stress was going to wreak havoc on her body before this was all over... "I, uh…He asked whether I’d be back on Monday and, um…"

    She bit on her lower lip, struggling to find the words. 

    "You won’t be in?” Lyra asked gently. 

    She hesitated. "…I don't know," she admitted shakily. 

    "You sound like you need more rest," Lyra said. "Go ahead and take Monday off if you need to. I’ll let him know you’ll be out. Unless you already did and just wanted to tell me?"

   "I haven’t told him. I just...I wasn’t sure if it was okay to take another day off," she lied after a moment of struggling, and closed her eyes; hating herself.

    “I can tell him for you,” Lyra offered immediately. “You definitely should rest if you need it, Cosmos. Like I said before, you’ve got plenty of vacation days stacked up you can use.”

    "Okay, thanks. I just...don't think I'd be able to work well on Monday..." Cosmos said quietly, not sure why she was even trying to explain herself.

    “Take as much time as you need,” Lyra said warmly, then added, “And by then I should have everything with Jaila sorted out, too.”

    “Great,” Cosmos said absently, putting a hand over her face. “Then…I’ll be back on Tuesday…?”

    She said it more as a question to herself, because even she wasn’t sure if she knew she would be or not.

    "That's fine, Cosmos," Lyra assured her. "I’ll let General Sephiroth know. And if you need me, you call me. Alright?"

    "Alright," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, feeling close to tears. 

    Why was it so hard to say it? Why couldn’t she just open her mouth and _SAY IT_?

    "Well I hope you feel better,” Lyra said, sounding somehow too cheerful. “Have a good rest over the weekend.”

    "Thanks, I will," she mumbled, nodding, and hung up.

    She set the phone down on the counter because her hands were shaking so horribly she was afraid she would drop it, and closed her eyes, feeling like crying again. Why couldn't she just tell her? Anyone? Alstro knew. It wasn't like she HADN'T told people... But she couldn't tell Lyra...or Marcello...just Alstro… Maybe that was it... Maybe because she knew Alstro wouldn’t go out and do something stupid like openly confront Sephiroth like Marcello would. And what could Lyra even do when Sephiroth had so much more authority than her? He was a General. She was an office supervisor...and Cosmos was just her worker. 

    She sighed again, turned, and walked back into the living room, where Alstro sat on the couch; watching her anxiously.

    "How did it go?" her friend asked gently, scooting over to make more room for her to sit down.

    "It didn't," she said quietly, sinking onto the cushions and picking up the remote, beginning to flip through channels while ignoring the trembling in her hands.

    Alstro's frown deepened. "You didn't tell her." It wasn't a question.

    Cosmos shook her head.

    "Why, Cosmos? Why won't you tell someone?" Alstro demanded, sounding desperate now.

    Cosmos didn't answer at first, then shrugged and looked down into her hands. Her fingers were white. "It just won't come out," she whispered after a long moment, pulling her legs up to her chest and curling up in a ball on the couch. 

    "Let me tell Lyra, then," pleaded Alstro, staring helplessly at her. "Cosmos, this has to stop...if you can't tell her, then let me."

    Cosmos didn't answer. She was tired. She didn't want to talk about it anymore. She honestly just wanted to go back upstairs, go to her room, lock the door, and go to sleep where no one could bother her. She sensed that somewhere under her exhaustion and unease, she was angry, but she wasn't sure entirely at what or who.

    She heaved a sigh, and reached over to drag one of the pillows on the couch closer to her so she could bury her face in it. She didn't want to look at Alstro. She knew she'd see disappointment, or something else she didn't want to be confronted with at the moment. For now, all she wanted to do was lay there and not think, because the more she thought the more her head hurt. 

    But even as she tried to let her mind go blissfully blank, something wriggled its way to the surface of her brain and made her tense.

    _{“I expect to hear from you directly…”}_

    Lyra was going to tell Sephiroth…after he’d explicitly told her to call him if she planned on being out of work on Monday. What the hell had she been thinking? And what would he do when she came back on Tuesday? Her chest constricted painfully as she bit her lip, fear welling fast, and heat pricked at the corners of her eyes. Gods… Why did everything keep ending up like this…?

    She felt Alstro’s hand land lightly on her shoulder, squeezing and massaging in what was meant to be a soothing motion, but there was too much tension in Alstro for Cosmos not to notice it, and it did nothing to help ease the rising panic. She let herself cry, because what else could she possibly do? Come Tuesday, she’d be back at work, and whatever happened would happen, whether she wanted it to or not.


	8. Chapter 8

    She didn't do anything for the rest of the day, except get up to take a shower, eat lunch, then lay back down on the couch again.   
    Alstro spent the day with her, making them hot chocolate as needed, and operating as the TV remote control handler, flipping through channels while Cosmos laid with her head in her friend's lap until they found something to watch to pass the time. No one else called the house for the rest of the day, and no one stopped by to visit, and to be honest they were both kind of glad for it.   
    Cosmos didn't want anymore visitors for the rest of the weekend, and Alstro wanted some time to herself to think of what to do next. She was still convinced she should call Lyra and tell her what was really going on, but she always stopped herself short of picking up the phone and acting on the impulse. Maybe it was because she felt that when Cosmos was ready to tell someone, she would. Alstro was only worried that by the time Cosmos was ready to talk, it would be too late to take back whatever had happened.   
    She kept picturing in her mind all the things that could happen to Cosmos when she got back to work on Tuesday and had to face Sephiroth again. The thought of the General getting her friend alone and hurting her more was too much for her to think about, and she often found herself gripping her mug or the remote a little too tightly and had to loosen her grip before she broke something.   
    Neither of them spoke about Sephiroth, or the phone calls, or Lyra, or anything else for most of the day. The only time they spoke was when Alstro asked Cosmos what they should make for dinner, or if they should just order out. Neither of them particularly felt like cooking, but they both knew they needed to eat, so eventually Alstro got up to call for pizza.  
    Cosmos waited on the couch while Alstro put in their order over the phone with the local pizza joint, staring blankly at the TV as the evening news report started. It was only after she felt a dull buzzing near her foot that she realized her cell phone was ringing again, and the minute she looked down to see the screen lit up she felt her stomach clench. She stared at it, not entirely sure what to do.   
    She knew she should pick up, because if anyone was calling her cellphone that usually meant it was important, and it could very easily be Sephiroth calling again, but it was for that exact reason she continued to sit, motionless, until the screen went dark again as the phone stopped vibrating. She continued to stare at it for a long moment, waiting to see if it would light up again, but after a few minutes of nothing happening, she decided it was safe to go back to watching TV.   
    The only problem was that every few seconds she would look back at her phone, and feel a stir of unease. Finally, she reached down and picked it up, flipping it open to inspect the missed call number. It wasn't familiar to her, and after a moment she went back through her previous calls to check the number that Sephiroth had called from. They didn't match.   
    She felt a brief stab of relief as she set the phone down. At least she knew the General hadn't been trying to get in touch with her again... Maybe he was too busy seething that Lyra had been the one to tell him Cosmos would be out of work again to take the time to call…  
    "Pizza will be here in about twenty, Cos," Alstro informed her from the kitchen.   
    "Cool," Cosmos answered, frowning at her phone now.   
    Maybe a wrong number, she guessed, closing her phone again and setting it down.   
    "Something wrong?" Alstro asked, walking back to sit next to her, her gaze flickering uncertainly between Cosmos and the cell phone.   
    "Wrong number tried to call," Cosmos said, shrugging and handing her the phone so she could see.  
    Alstro flipped the phone open again and checked 'missed calls'. When she saw the number, her eyes widened.  
    "Shoot, that's Nero's number," she said frantically, jumping to her feet and racing into the kitchen again, seizing the home phone and beginning to dial rapidly.   
    "Your boss?" Cosmos asked, surprised. "Why does he—?"      
    "I put your number down as my emergency contact," Alstro explained hastily, hitting 'send' and putting the house phone to her ear, looking anxious. "I totally forgot to tell him I lost my cellphone. He probably tried calling it and couldn't get a hold of me and then tried calling my house. But, duh, I'm not there. He probably thinks I'm missing in action or something stupid."  
    Cosmos watched and waited as Alstro tapped her foot anxiously on the linoleum floor of the kitchen, waiting for someone to answer the phone. After a few seconds, it seemed someone did.   
    "Nero! Hey, it's Alstro," Alstro said hurriedly. "I'm so sorry, I forgot to tell you I lost my cellphone and I'm staying with Cosmos. I saw you just tried to call her cell. She thought it was a wrong number so she didn't answer."  
    Cosmos wasn't able to hear the other end of the conversation from her position on the couch, so she went back to watching TV instead, sipping on her hot chocolate. She kept her ears tuned in to Alstro's conversation, though, because it was probably going to be more interesting than the evening traffic report.  
    "Yeah...yeah, I'm at her place right now. Do you—... Nero, I'll never ask for anything again, is there any way you can get someone else to do it tonight? ...No, it's just...look, she's in a really scary place right now and I don't want to leave her alone... It's hard to explain... Basically, someone is stalking her and I'm scared of leaving her alone... Yeah... I don't know, it could easily be a few days; I've been here since Thursday night... Yeah, but I... Is there really no one else? ...Okay...yeah..."  
    Cosmos didn't need to hear the other end of the conversation to know what was happening, and she felt an odd sinking in the pit of her stomach as Alstro heaved a sigh of defeat and said, "I can be there in half an hour if I catch the train on time...yeah...I want to be off by midnight, Nero, I'm serious... Thanks... I'll be there in a bit... Bye."  
    Alstro hung up and heaved another sigh as she trudged back into the living room, looking weary.  
    "Nero really needs me to work, apparently," she said, sounding annoyed and guilty at the same time, and when Cosmos looked over at her friend it was to see her frowning uncertainly.   
    "Okay," she said, blinking.   
    Alstro nibbled on her lower lip, looking hesitant. "Cosmos, are you going to be okay alone? I'm asking seriously."  
    "I'll be okay," Cosmos promised, throwing her friend a rueful smile. "I'll lock the doors and everything. I'll even get my big umbrella out of the closet to beat the robbers with."  
    Alstro's lips twitched in an almost smile, but the worry didn't leave her dark eyes.   
    "I'll be back around one," she said.  
    "Okay," Cosmos nodded. "You go ahead, baby. I'll be fine. I promise. I'll only answer the phone if you call."  
    Alstro nodded, looking a little more reassured, then went over to where she'd taken to hanging her purse on the wall to dig around in it for her wallet. She retrieved it, grabbed a twenty out of it, and handed it to Cosmos.  
    "For when the pizza gets here," she said, tucking the wallet back in place and turning to walk for the stairs.   
    "You should stay and eat it at least," said Cosmos, feeling a little guilty that her friend wouldn't be able to even sit for a meal.   
    "I can't, hon, I told Nero I'd be there ASAP, and the train leaves in about fifteen minutes," sighed Alstro, grimacing slightly as she headed up the stairs to get dressed. "Save some for me and I'll heat it up when I get back."  
    Cosmos nodded, frowning as she watched Alstro vanished into the bedroom and the door shut behind her.   
    She had wanted to be alone for the rest of the weekend, sure, but she had wanted to be alone with someone there if something went wrong. She didn't think anything would after the earlier events of the day, but she still felt uneasy that she was going to be spending the night alone without Alstro. She hadn't been alone since Sephiroth had more or less attacked her in his office... She wasn't even sure if she could get to sleep without Alstro there...  
    Sighing, she jammed the heels of her hands against her eyes, trying to calm herself. It was nothing to get upset about. If Alstro had to work, she had to work. She'd be back by morning, and everything would be fine. It wasn't like Cosmos couldn't live on her own. She'd been doing it for the better part of four years and she didn't think her friend leaving for a night was going to change that.   
    Still...she wasn't looking forward to eating pizza alone. Somehow it just wasn't as much fun.  
    Alstro reappeared at the top of the stairs, fully dressed, and putting her hair up in her usual ponytail, looking harried.   
    "I don't want to work," she griped, even as she paused to slip on her tennis shoes and knot the laces before heading towards the front door. "I don't. I want to sit here, eat pizza, watch stupid news, and go to bed."  
    "It'll be okay," Cosmos reassured her friend with an amused smile.   
    "Meh," muttered Alstro, seizing her purse off of the hanger by the door and marching over to give her friend a brief hug over the back of the couch. "If anyone tries to break in or some idiot calls you, you call me and I'll come home and whoop their ass. Got it?"  
    "Yes, ma'am," snorted Cosmos. "Now go, before you miss the train."  
    Alstro grinned, gave a mock salute, grabbed an umbrella out of the closet to fend off the rain, and headed out the door. The moment it had closed behind her with a sharp snap, Cosmos felt her heart sink. The house suddenly felt uncomfortably large, and silent.   
    It almost made her wish that Alstro had managed to convince her boss to let her stay with her...but work was work and someone had to do it, and Cosmos knew Alstro was one of the best workers her boss could have. She'd just have to power through the next few hours until she was tired enough to sleep, and comfort herself with the thought that Alstro would be back before she got up in the morning...  
    Sighing, she slumped back against the couch cushions, taking up the remote and beginning to flip through the channels on the TV again. There wasn't much to watch, in spite of it being Saturday, and she eventually gave the TV up as a bad job when it turned up nothing but evening news and talk shows, and—of course—the usual late night nut jobs who'd bought half an hour of air time to proclaim their visions of the end of the world.   
    Rolling her eyes as one man jumped on his desk and began shrieking at the audience to listen, she turned off the TV and pushed herself up from the couch, looking around for other potential entertainment. She thought about taking a shower, then remembered pizza was on the way and decided against it. She was hungry, and the last thing she needed was for the delivery to show up while she was in the shower. She turned towards the scarcely filled bookshelf to her left, where she kept a small collection of books for those lazy days when even the TV couldn't entertain her, or she just wanted an escape from the mindlessness.   
    She wandered over, contemplating her options. Dread settled in the pit of her stomach. It had been so long since she'd picked up a book, or gone book shopping, that her collection consisted mostly of her favorite romance series, and a few educational books she'd kept from school on the off chance she got interested enough to reread them. Sighing, she picked up two books and weighed them each in a palm. One sported a cover in hues of dark crimson and purple and a fair skinned woman swooning in the arms of a well-muscled blond man. She didn't much care for the cover, but she enjoyed the story.   
    She glanced towards her other choice. It's cover wasn't nearly so colorful or romantic. It was an old textbook on dead languages she'd snuck out of school when she had graduated. It had been interesting to her then, but she knew she would bore herself to death if she tried to read it in the mood she was in now. She set the textbook back, and turned the romance novel over and over in her hands while she inspected the other few choices left to her. Another textbook about different cultures of the world, five more romance novels by the same author as the first, and a tiny notebook she knew contained her own writings that she had no desire to revisit.   
    She gave up and settled for the book with the swooning woman and blond man and returned to the couch, curling herself up and flipping it open to a worn and well-marked page, because it was her favorite. The cover belied the intrigue of the story itself, and she always enjoyed this part of the book because it was one of the few times in the book where the heroine got to take the reigns and have some fun for once.   
    She laid back against the arm of the couch, pulling a pillow onto her stomach to prop up her book, and tried to let the words take her away.  
    {He fell back with a look of surprise, landing hard on the bed on his back, and tilted his head up to watch her approach, his eyes roving over her with a look that was both hungry and bemused.  
    "You look like a woman with something on her mind," he said in a low voice, narrowing his eyes at her as he propped himself up on his elbows to continue watching her advance on him. His eyes lingering on the slow sway of her hips.  
    She smiled innocently at him, carelessly shrugging out of his button down shirt so it fell in a pool of silk to the floor, leaving her completely bare before him. She loved watching the way his eyes darkened as he looked at her, and the tiny jerk of his cock against his abdomen, signaling his desire.   
    "Just a few things," she conceded as she finally came to stand in front of him, sliding her hands slowly down her breasts, shaping her waist and hips, loving the way his pupils dilated at the sight, and his tongue flicked out to wet his lower lip.  
    "Show me," he commanded hoarsely, pushing himself up and reaching a hand towards her, but she shook her head and stepped back; her lips twitching in the beginnings of a smirk. He growled in the back of his throat, and narrowed his eyes, but when she pointed to the bed, he laid back obediently, though he craned his head to keep her in his sight.  
    She took her time, moving slowly to his side and seating herself on the edge of the bed...}  
    Cosmos sighed as her eyes took in the words without really reading them. She knew the entire passage by heart, but that normally didn't stop her from enjoying it, but she just couldn't get into the story for some reason. Probably all the stress of everything else that was going on...  
    Giving up on the book, she snapped it shut and set it aside on the coffee table, resigning herself instead to inspecting the ceiling. It was a typical ceiling. White paint. A few flaws here and there. But no damage. She wondered if she should paint it, just for a change of appearance... Blue might be nice...   
    She snorted at herself, throwing an arm over her face. Every room in her house was blue. Even the tile in her bathroom was blue. If she painted or installed any more blue into the house, she might go mad. Maybe she should try turquoise...  
    The moment she tried to picture the color on her ceiling, her mind was filled with the image of a pair of searing blue-green eyes with cat-like pupils and she went rigid where she lay.   
    "Not turquoise," she muttered aloud, dropping her arm from over her eyes and staring up at her bland white ceiling. White was good. White was fine.   
    The pizza arrived about ten minutes later, after she'd finished counting the cracks in the paint on the ceiling. 75. She got up from the couch, making sure to grab the $20 that Alstro had left her, and went to answer the door. The delivery boy greeted with a friendly smile, in spite of being soaking wet from the rain, and handed her her pizza with a little tip of his cap, which was dripping water in front of his eyes.   
    She handed him the $20, and when he started to dig in his side pouch for change she said hurriedly, "Keep the change."  
    It was the least she could to make up for the fact that he'd had to come out in this weather...  
    He beamed at her, thanked her for her business, and hurried back off into the rain just as lightning forked overhead and thunder rumbled ominously.   
    She took the pizza inside, closing and bolting the door behind her, and deliberated whether she was in a mood for eating in the kitchen, or on the couch. After a few seconds of deliberation, and another loud rumble of thunder sent the hair on the back of her neck standing on end as the lights flickered, she decided on the couch. She set the pizza on the coffee table, went to retrieve a soda from the fridge and a blanket from the closet in the hall, then returned and set it all down before walking over to her movie collection she kept in the cabinet that served as the TV stand. She fished out the first one to catch her interest, popped it into the DVD player, then retreated back to the couch to curl up there as the credits started to roll.  
    A few times during the opening of the movie, the lightning and thunder made the house shake, and the lights flickered twice more, but she focused on eating her pizza and enjoying the movie, though she still felt her nerves jangle a little whenever the lights started to fizzle. The last thing she needed right now was a power outage. The fuse box was downstairs in the basement, and since discovering that a colony of mice had made their permanent home there when she moved in she hadn't been down there a single time. She didn't even have a flashlight to help her see if the lights went out, so going down into the basement was definitely out of the question. The last thing she needed was to go trekking through a pitch black basement filled with mice.  
    Sighing as the lights flickered ominously for a fourth time, she paused the movie and got up to go to the kitchen to light the few candles she owned. They were mostly aromatic or used for decoration, but she'd rather have light than decorations. She set a couple of the shorter candles on the kitchen counter, away from anything flammable, and carried a larger column candle out into the living room with her, setting it gingerly on the coffee table on a plate to keep the wax from getting on anything. After she'd settled back onto the couch, she restarted the movie.  
    A couple of hours later, the movie was over, she'd eaten a good half of the pizza, it was still raining, but at least the lights had stopped flickering. She turned off the TV, took the remaining pizza to the kitchen to put it in a container to refrigerate for Alstro whenever she got home, blew out the candles, and then headed upstairs to get a shower.   
    She spent another thirty minutes under the hot water, leaning with her back against the cool tile and staring blankly at the opposite wall. She worked very hard not to let previous memories of what she had done in this same shower just a few days previously to creep in on her, though every now and then a detail would slip through and she'd shiver at the memory of it, more repulsed than enticed now.   
    How could she have thought Sephiroth was romantic? Or any of the things she'd once thought about him? He wasn't. He was controlling, and dangerous. Sure, he might still be attractive, but attraction was superficial, and meant nothing in a situation like this...  
    She shut off the water, toweled off slowly, and made her way back to her bedroom, leaving a small trail of water droplets behind her as she went, her mind still clouded with thoughts as she dropped the towel and changed into her pajamas.   
    She didn't want to go back to work on Tuesday...she knew that much, but she also knew that she didn't think she had the strength or the guts to call Lyra again to tell her she wouldn't be coming back into work again. Especially when she had to think about how Sephiroth would react once Lyra gave him the news…assuming she hadn’t already… What if he called back? What if he asked why she hadn’t called him first? She knew she couldn't lie to him. She'd barely ever been able to say more than a few words to him whenever they were around each other, and when she did they were always formal, and the honest truth, because she got the sense that he could easily detect when someone lied to him. Even over the phone, she guessed he'd be able to tell she was lying, and how would she get around it then?   
    She groaned, feeling her temples beginning to throb again, and decided to come up with a plan tomorrow. It was late, and she had too much going on in her head already to be trying to think of a way to get around talking to—or lying to—Sephiroth. With any luck, she'd have a better idea by morning...  
    Sighing, she flopped face down on the bed, face in the pillows, and almost immediately felt exhaustion hit her with the weight of an armored tank. She rolled herself under the covers, yanking them up to her chin, and after a brief glance towards her clock to check the time, she rolled over to her other side to face the wall, and let her eyes drift closed. Alstro would be home in a few hours... Then tomorrow would come, and they'd work it all out... Until then, she planned on getting as much sleep as possible, and only hoped that she wouldn't be visited by nightmares in Alstro's absence.


	9. Chapter 9

    Cosmos knew she had to be dreaming, because she knew for a fact she hadn't fallen asleep in Sephiroth's office, but that was where she now stood, staring towards the desk he usually sat behind, except it was empty. She blinked, and the chair that had been there during the first meeting, when he'd called her and Jaila to his office, reappeared briefly before disappearing in the same instant. Definitely a dream.  
    Frowning, she tried to turn her head to look around her, but found she couldn't move. She tried to flex her fingers and toes, and managed that, but her head refused to pivot as she tried to look anywhere else in the office. The entire rest of her body was frozen in place. She glanced left and right, trying to see as far as she could without moving her head, and realized that the edges of the office seemed distorted, and there didn't seem to be a door anywhere in sight. Her gaze swung back in a circle, and focused on Sephiroth's desk again.  
    He was behind it this time, and she felt her stomach jolt as she took him in.   
    His head was bent towards a mass of papers on his desk, just as he would have been in real life, and his pen was scribbling away across the lines on the page without ceasing. His silvery-white hair slid over his broad shoulders, coiling in shimmering ringlets on the surface of the desk; a stark contrast to the black leather of his attire. She couldn't see his eyes from where she stood, not with is head as low to the desk as it was, but she had the sense that he was somehow watching her even without looking up at her.   
    She waited to see if he would speak, or if her dream would keep him as silent as she was motionless. She couldn't even hear the sound of the pen scratching on paper, and the oppressive silence made her anxious. Even as she stood there, she could feel her chest contracting in uncertainty, and her breathing became a little more uneven.  
    She blinked, and in an instant the scene had changed. She felt her back pressed up against a firm surface, and she was staring at Sephiroth's bare chest as he towered over her, his powerful arms braced on either side of her head. She was startled as her hands glided across his smooth skin, and she could feel his muscles twitch and shift under her touch, warm and alive. His silvery hair slid across her arms and between her fingers as she reached up to tangle her hands in the long strands, tilting her head back to look up into his eyes.   
    The movement, and the realization that she had managed it, also brought attention to the fact that she was sprawled on her back in a tangle of sheets with her head pressed against a pillow. A bed. When she tried to glance around, she caught glimpses of what looked like her bedroom, but the image kept distorting until she could only focus on Sephiroth as he braced himself over her, his entire upper half bare, his lower half concealed beneath a thin sheet.   
    His hair was soft and silken beneath her roving fingertips, and she tugged on it lightly, relishing the feel of it, and sucked in a breath as a low groan sounded in her ear as he lowered his head towards hers. She felt his hot lips against the side of her neck, moving languidly, slowly, and she felt an answering pulse of desire shoot through her stomach into her breasts and between her legs so she shifted restlessly, rubbing her thighs together as heat throbbed and turned to liquid as his warm breath against her skin made her body shiver with want.   
    She felt his hands on her hips, his long fingers splayed across her bare skin, and she tilted her head back as his lips roamed lower, tracing along her collarbone, his teeth nipping lightly; his tongue following the same path, leaving damp heat behind. She arched as his mouth moved even further, pressing light kisses everywhere he could reach, and he moaned as she tightened her fingers in his hair as his breath ghosted over the top of her breasts and his fingers dug deeper into her skin.   
    She shifted her legs again, feeling wet heat dampen her inner thighs, and gave a low sound of desire.   
    She dropped her hands to his shoulders, digging her nails into his skin, drawing a quiet hiss of pleasure from him, and she felt a foreign heat press against her inner thighs, which were suddenly spread wide.   
    She closed her eyes, and knew immediately the dream had changed again. Her hands were back at her sides, and she felt clothing chafing at her overheated skin. She opened her eyes, and realized she was standing behind Sephiroth's desk now, and could feel warm breath on the back of her neck as a hand pressed firmly between her shoulder blades, urging her to bend forward. She did, planting her hands against the desk to brace herself, and felt a hand slide along her hip. She glanced back, and felt her stomach clench to see a gloved, long-fingered hand splaying across her thigh, right under the hem of the skin-tight black skirt with a silver chain that she was wearing. She could hear Sephiroth's voice in her ear, but couldn't make out the words clearly enough to understand them.   
    It was as though he were speaking at the end of a tunnel, and she was on the other side. She could feel his warm breath in her ear, and the heat of his body against hers, but she couldn't understand any of the words he was whispering as his fingers teased the hem of the skirt higher on her thighs. She moaned at the feel of his leather-clad fingertips trailing across her skin, and pushed back into his touch.   
    She looked forward again, sensing movement in front of her and felt her breath catch to see Sephiroth sprawled on his back on a bed, completely naked, though his long, lithe legs tangled in the sheets as he lay there. His silvery hair was spread in a halo around him as he fisted one hand in the sheets beside him, and used the other to stroke his stiff erection slowly, his blue-green eyes locked on her face as she stood there staring at him, the skirt suddenly replaced with a silky button down that hung to her knees, and nothing else.   
    "You look like a woman with something on her mind," the General murmured in a low voice, his hungry eyes locked on her face as she took several steps towards him; her body acting on its own as a confidence that wasn't her own filled her and she let the shirt slip from her shoulders to the floor.   
    "Just a few things," she responded, not recognizing her own voice as she came to a stop in front of him, her hands shaping her breasts and waist.   
    He kept stroking himself, his body glistening with sweat as his breaths came in ragged gasps from his half parted lips, his blue-green eyes burning as she sank down onto the bed beside him and stretched out on her side, sliding a hand from his broad shoulder to the line of his hip, feeling sweat dampen her fingertips. His chest was smooth and hairless, as was the rest of him, and as her fingers danced lower along his thigh he groaned and reached out to grab her around the waist, dragging her on top of him.   
    She spread her legs to straddle him, feeling heat pulsing between her thighs, and leaned forward with her hands planted on his chest, bringing her face close to his as he tilted his head back to brush an open mouthed kiss over the corner of her mouth.   
    She blinked and she was leaning over his desk again, fully clothed, his hand tight around her wrist as he breathed softly against her cheek, his voice low and sensual, "I expect you'll wear that skirt for me when you come back to work..."  
    Her chest, just above her collarbone, throbbed, and she opened her eyes, startled, as a hand came down firmly on her shoulder.   
    "Cosmos," said Alstro, leaning over her, looking anxious.   
    Cosmos laid there for a moment, disoriented. She blinked hard, trying to clear her foggy vision, and raised her hands to wipe at her eyes, her fingers scraping across crustiness caught in her eyelashes.   
    "Whas'up?" Cosmos mumbled, rubbing hard at her eyes as she rolled onto her back and stretched her legs. She felt dampness between her legs, and realized her panties were soaked with her arousal.   
    "You were talking in your sleep, baby," Alstro told her, settling herself on the edge of the bed, "You sounded like you were having a nightmare, so I decided to wake you up."  
    Cosmos yawned hugely, and dropped her hands tiredly to her side, looking blearily up at her friend. It was still dark in the room, and beyond the door it was dark as well. She guessed Alstro must have turned the lights off... Which reminded her...  
    "You just get back?" she asked tiredly, pushing herself up with some difficulty so she could prop herself on her elbows to look at Alstro.  
    The dark haired girl shook her head, and Cosmos realized her friend was in PJs, and her hair hung loose around her shoulders, mussed from sleep.   
    "I got back a few hours ago, but you started talking in your sleep and it woke me up," she murmured, reaching out to rub Cosmo's shoulder gently. "You okay?"  
    Cosmos nodded, frowning. She tried to remember what she'd been dreaming about, but all she could get was vague images of an office that looked like Sephiroth's, but nothing else. She thought maybe she'd been standing in his empty office just looking around, but she couldn't remember.   
    "What were you dreaming about?" Alstro asked with a slight frown, tilting her head. The light from the alarm clock hit her eyes, illuminating the golden flecks there so her irises glimmered faintly in the darkness.   
    "I don't remember," admitted Cosmos, dropping back down onto the bed and staring at the ceiling.   
    "Sorry I woke you," apologized Alstro in a small voice, sounding guilty.  
    "Don't be, hon, I probably WAS having a nightmare if I was talking in my sleep," Cosmos yawned tiredly. "What time is it anyway?"  
    "Almost six," Alstro answered after glancing over her shoulder to check the clock.   
    "Fun," snorted Cosmos, rolling onto her stomach and mashing her face into a pillow. "How was work?"  
    "Work-ish," responded Alstro with a wry smirk. "Nero was glad to see me, and he paid me a little extra for coming in on short notice, so it wasn't all bad. It just ended up being a group of office workers decided to show up en masse for some kind of drinking party or something and Nero couldn't handle it with just him and Raz working the bar, so that's why he called me."  
    "Gotcha," mumbled Cosmos, turning her face so she could look at Alstro. Her friend looked dead tired, but pleased with herself.   
    "I also talked to him about getting you a job," Alstro hedged, and there was a hopeful look in her eyes.   
    Cosmos felt a slight thrill of excitement at the same time her stomach lurched uncomfortably.  
    "What did he say?" she asked, trying to keep her voice casual.   
    "He said he'd be happy to have you, if you want to work with us," Alstro said, and she sounded positively gleeful. "You can start anytime you want. You don't even need references or anything. He says he'll just let you run the register or wait tables until you get the hang of bartending."  
    Cosmos nodded tiredly, not knowing what she could say. She was definitely tempted by the offer for work, but there was a nagging voice in the back of her mind that said it wouldn't be as easy as leaving everything at Shinra and going to work with Alstro... She would still have to turn in her two week's notice, get through those two weeks still working at Shinra...and Heaven only knew what could happen in those two weeks... And even if she made it through those two weeks, what was to stop something from happening? What if her two weeks' notice mysteriously vanished, lost among other papers on the way up to the higher chain of command? What if Sephiroth found out and tried to prevent her from leaving? Or...what if she left, and then got word that he'd chosen another target...?  
    She cringed just thinking about it. She probably hadn't been the first, and she more than likely wouldn't be the last that Sephiroth did this to... If she didn't speak up and say something before she left, what was to stop him from moving on to someone else? The new girl who took her place, maybe... Doing the same thing to her that he'd done to Cosmos... And he hadn't even gotten that far with Cosmos yet, but two weeks was a long time...and anything could happen...  
    She frowned as a flicker of her dream started to come back, but the more she tried to reach for it, the more it melted away, until she was left frustrated and confused trying to remember what she'd forgotten.  
    "Cos, you've got that look again," said Alstro slowly, frowning.   
    "What look?" Cosmos asked, startled.   
    "That look that says you're not convinced you should leave Shinra," Alstro told her firmly, "I'm serious, Cosmos, you can't just keep working there when he's there! What if something really bad happens? And, based on what I know about situations like this, something bad WILL happen. It's not a matter of 'if', Cos, it's a matter of 'when'. I don't want something to happen to you that can't be taken back..."  
    Cosmos nodded, but didn't meet her friend's gaze. She knew Alstro was right. Knew she should just walk out on Shinra, but how could she? It wasn't the company itself that had left her feeling terrified of her own job, it was Sephiroth. Only Sephiroth. She felt, even if she owed Sephiroth nothing, that she owed Shinra at least the benefit of her two weeks' notice; as a good employee.   
    "Think about it," Alstro urged her. "We've got tomorrow to talk about it, okay? Or, technically today, if you think about it."  
    Cosmos gave her friend a wry smile, that Alstro returned, and they got back into bed. Alstro fell asleep almost instantly. Cosmos could tell by her friend's light snores that she was already out, but Cosmos took a little longer to coax herself back to sleep. Her mind was still reeling with thoughts, and she kept trying to go back to the dreams she knew she'd had, but couldn't remember... She hated that feeling. It was like she'd lost a memory and couldn't get it back... Sighing, she eventually gave up on the idea of getting any of her dream back, and resigned herself to sleep a few more hours before morning really came.   
    She didn't remember falling asleep again, but knew she had to have because when she next woke up it was eleven in the morning, and Alstro wasn't in bed. She sat up, stretching immensely and yawning, and slithered out of bed to go downstairs. She could hear the TV on, and figured Alstro was already downstairs keeping an eye on the news. Sure enough, once Cosmos had trudged downstairs and walked into the living room, it was to see her friend seated on the couch with a bagel and a cup of coffee.   
    Alstro looked tired, but otherwise cheerful as she turned to smile at Cosmos.  
    "Hey, you," she greeted her, "Did I wake you up?"  
    Cosmos shook her head, stifling another yawn. "Did you sleep okay? Sorry I kept you up."  
    "Don't worry about it, Cos," Alstro dismissed it with an airy wave of her bagel, "I'm just glad you got to sleep some more. I felt bad for waking you up so early, but you seemed like you weren't sleeping well, so I figured it was better to just get you up at least a little bit."  
    "I appreciate it," Cosmos told her earnestly, not bothering to get breakfast yet and coming to take a seat beside Alstro, "Even though I don't even remember what I dreamt about... What was I even saying in my sleep?"  
    "I couldn't make out a lot of it," admitted Alstro with a lame shrug, and took a swig of her coffee. "I thought you said someone's name, but I couldn't tell for sure, and then you rolled over and said something about 'just a few things'."  
    Cosmos frowned, bemused, but the words rang a bell. She glanced towards the coffee table, where the book she'd tried to read the night before still lay. A flicker of a dream started to come back, and she grabbed for it. She remembered now that she'd had a dream a lot like the scene in the book, and there had definitely been a man with her, but she was coming up blank on the face. All she could picture was some tall, muscular man. Maybe with blond hair.  
    She shrugged, deciding it wasn't important. If it was going to come back to her, it would eventually, and she couldn't force it.  
    "Ah, well," Alstro sighed, also shrugging, "At least we both got some sleep. I wish you could have been at work with me last night, though. It was insane."  
    "Busy?" Cosmos asked sympathetically.  
    "Not so much busy, but apparently Yas--Raz's sister--has some fans showing up at the bar now," Alstro said, and grimaced. "Lucky for us, Yas wasn't working last night, so they had to deal with Raz threatening to beat the living hell out of them if they didn't leave his sister alone. It was actually really funny. There were three dudes, but they were all really scrawny and lame, and one of them actually tried to use a fork to attack Raz."  
    Cosmos's eyes widened. "Are you serious? Was he okay?"  
    Alstro laughed. "The guy or Raz? Because Raz is just fine, but that other guy had to be carried out by his two friends after Raz was done with him. I don't think I've ever seen Raz get so pissed before, but I don't blame him. If he hadn't beaten the hell out of them, I would've."  
    "I know you would've," said Cosmos with an amused smirk.   
    Alstro grinned, looking proud of herself. "I take care of my sisters, even when they're not related to me," she said, winking at Cosmos, then frowned slightly. "Speaking of which, we really need to talk, hon."  
    Cosmos felt a sinking in the pit of her stomach, but she only nodded. She knew Alstro was right, but she really wasn't looking forward to this conversation...  
    "Why won't you just quit Shinra right now?" Alstro asked.  
    "I owe them better than that," Cosmos said, then--seeing Alstro opening her mouth to argue--added swiftly, "Sephiroth is the one causing the problem, Alstro, not Shinra. Shinra as a company has been good to me and I'm not about to just drop them because of one of their workers."  
    "But he's their top worker, isn't he?" asked Alstro with a hint of disgust in her voice.   
    "Not the point," Cosmos said seriously, frowning at her. "The point, Alstro, is that Shinra is a very powerful, very well-paying company and just dropping them for no reason isn't going to look good on my resume."  
    "It wouldn't be for no reason," pointed out Alstro quietly, her dark eyes serious as she looked Cosmos dead in the eyes.   
    "They don't know that," Cosmos reminded her.   
    "Then tell them," Alstro urged her, a tad desperately, setting her bagel and coffee down before turning to stare at Cosmos. "I'm serious. Do you think they'd act a little differently if they found out their hero is treating lower level workers like this?"  
    "We already had this discussion, Al, that isn't how they'd see it," sighed Cosmos, lifting a hand to massage her forehead, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on as her temples began to ache.   
    Alstro opened her mouth to say something else, then seemed to rethink and closed her mouth, shaking her head. "I'm really worried, Cosmos," she murmured after a moment, and Cosmos heard the faintest tremor in her friend's voice. "You want to give them two weeks' notice, but do you have any idea what could happen in two weeks?"  
    "Yes, I do," said Cosmos quietly, looking back at her friend with a steady gaze. "Which is why I'll talk to someone about it..."  
    "Who, Cosmos? And when?" asked Alstro, looking uncertain. "Lyra? You already tried talking to her and you weren't ready. What if you're not ready until something happens?"  
    "Didn't you say that last night?" Cosmos asked wearily.  
    "I'm pretty sure I did, but if I didn't I'll say it again anyway," Alstro said with a tight smile. "Seriously, Cos...this is getting out of hand, and I don't know what to do? I can't be at work to help, but you don't want me to tell Lyra...so what else I can do?"  
    "Be patient with me," suggested Cosmos with a lame shrug and a slight smile. "I'll talk to someone, Al. I just...need to get my head on straight first. It's all still really close, and I need some distance first."  
    "You're going back to work Tuesday," Alstro reminded her with a frown. "You're not going to have a chance to get distance, hon."  
    Cosmos didn't want to talk about it... She really didn't. She knew she needed to tell someone, but how was she supposed to get anyone to take her seriously without any hard evidence against Sephiroth, other than the bite on her skin, but that could easily be brushed aside as something her (nonexistent) boyfriend had done. Or she'd had someone do it to set the General up. There were so many counterarguments she could already hear the higher ups of the company making for Sephiroth, and she wouldn't be able to combat any of them... She could tell them she'd told other people, but that still wouldn't amount to proof. That just meant she had more people willing to back her up, but not with any hard evidence it would all amount to nothing.   
    Her best chance was to hand in her two weeks' notice as soon as possible, and see if she could figure out a way to steer clear of Sephiroth until it went through... Maybe she could get Lyra to help...talk her into keeping Cosmos so busy that the General coudn't call her up to his office. Yeah...that could work.  
    She mentally kicked herself as she realized she was making excuses... Reasons not to tell anyone... But she needed to. She knew she needed to. Alstro was right. She needed to get help, before something happened she couldn't take back, whether it happened to her or whatever girl ended up taking her place after she'd left...  
    "I'll talk to Lyra at work," she murmured aloud without thinking, "And make sure she can keep me so busy I can't leave the office unless she gives the okay."  
    She knew Alstro didn't approve in the way her friend breathed out a slow sigh, but also knew Alstro wasn't going to try and argue with her.   
    "Do you really think that's going to work?" her friend asked after a moment, sounding uncertain.  
    Cosmos shrugged. "Won't know until I try...At the very least, if I can give Lyra my two weeks' notice while we're alone, maybe I can work up the courage to tell her."  
    Alstro nodded, seeming much more invested in that idea. "Yeah, that would be good."  
    Cosmos nodded absently, then turned her attention back to the TV, not interested in carrying the conversation further. Thankfully, Alstro seemed ready to let her have some peace, and they sat for an hour or two just watching the news and the weather report. Contrary to last night's report, the rain had cleared up outside, and the sun was making a feeble attempt to shine through the remaining clouds, but it seemed like it would be back to sunny skies by the next morning. Ironic, though Cosmos as she finally got up to go get something to eat, that the day she returned to the place she dreaded was the day the weather decided to be nice.   
    Maybe it was a sign that tomorrow would be better... She could always hope.


	10. Chapter 10

Monday was spent in a state of drowsy inactivity. Cosmos spent the day wandering from the bedroom to the bathroom as needed and—when Alstro finally got up later that afternoon—to the living room and kitchen for a super late breakfast and TV. Even with the sky clear and sunny and inviting, it didn't do much to dispel their sluggishness.  
Neither of them really made an effort to talk. Alstro because she was still half asleep, and Cosmos because she was too busy thinking about the next day, when she’d be back at work. The last few hours of the day were spent with food in front of the TV, and then Cosmos went to bed early in spite of the twisting unease in her stomach that told her she’d be up well past midnight worrying.  
By the time Alstro came to bed a couple hours later, though, it was to find Cosmos fast asleep, though she turned fitfully in her sleep, and outside a fresh storm rolled in and thunder grumbled through the night.  
Tuesday morning came with a kind of groggy reluctance. It was foggy outside, and there wasn't even a slight hint of sunshine as Cosmos stood at the window in the kitchen, looking out. The only suggestion that there was any light was that the clouds were a light grey instead of the pitch black from last night’s late storm. She chewed silently on her bagel, staring out at the dismal weather, and hoping she was just paranoid to think it signaled bad things for the day ahead.  
She shifted her weight onto her other foot, and glanced down at herself as her chosen khakis for the day rustled. She'd forgone any semblance of a skirt, though she was starting to wonder if she should make an early morning stop by that boutique on the way to the train station before heading to work. She shook herself mentally, forcing the idea clean out of her head. She was being stupid. A skirt was nothing. She wouldn't let it be anything other than nothing. It was a piece of clothing, and she wasn't going to wear it.  
Let Sephiroth think what he liked...  
She suddenly found it unnaturally difficult to swallow the bite of bagel she had taken, and struggled for a bit before having to fish out the milk and pour herself a glass to get it down.  
Alstro was still asleep, and Cosmos had no desire to deprive her friend of her beauty rest. At least that's what she was trying to convince herself of. Really, she just didn't want Alstro to give her another pep talk before work. She was anxious enough as it was. So, rather than calling a goodbye to her friend, she scribbled a quick note that she stuck to the fridge for Alstro to see whenever she made it downstairs for food, packed up her bag, slid on her shoes, and headed out the door.  
Her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Alvira, was outside weeding her small garden, and lifted her head to give Cosmos a crinkled smile as she spotted the girl coming out the front door.  
"Morning, dear," the woman called, waving a hand.  
Cosmos smiled and waved back, then started off, but hadn't made it more than two steps when Mrs. Alvira's voice stopped her in her tracks.  
"Still no late night suitors?"  
Cosmos took a moment to breathe deeply through her nose. Mrs. Alvira was a nice lady, but she was also an insufferable gossiper and she loved prying into other people's business. Particularly business involving men. Cosmos attributed it to the recent passing of the woman's husband, and how she probably was trying to distract herself with other things, but it didn't really help make it any more tolerable.  
"No, I'm afraid not," she responded, turning to smile politely at the woman, who gave her a thoughtful once over.  
"Don't suppose you'd be interested in finding a good man?" the widow asked with a friendly twinkle in her eye. "I know a few lovely young gentlemen in the market."  
"No thanks, Mrs. Alvira," Cosmos said, feeling her face tighten with the strain of continuing to pretend-smile.  
"Well," sighed Mrs. Alvira, returning to yanking out a rather stubborn weed, "Let me know if you change your mind, dear. It's not good to be alone, you know."  
Cosmos would have responded with a joke if not for the sad look that came into Mrs. Alvira's eyes as she returned to pruning her garden. Caught by a sudden surge of emotion for the woman, Cosmos hesitated to leave, but couldn't think of anything to say, other than, "I'll remember."  
She turned on her heel and walked away quickly, feeling her stomach shifting uncomfortably. She wished she could go back into the house to wake up Alstro. Her friend was so much more people-savvy than she was, and probably would have known what to say to make Mrs. Alvira feel better. Cosmos had always stumbled when it came to saying what people wanted to hear. She knew how to joke and be sarcastic, but when it came down to real feelings, she had no idea what to say or do. She'd been told she came off as cold, but really it was just that she was terrified she'd only upset the person more if she tried to make them feel better...  
Sighing heavily, feeling considerably more dismal than she had a few minutes ago, she made it to the train station a few seconds before the train, and boarded with everyone else on the way into work.  
20 minutes later and the train came to a stop outside Shinra’s building. She hadn't even gotten off the train when her phone rang, and, frowning, she reached into her purse to pull it out, looking down at the blinking screen in confusion. The number was Lyra's. Frown deepening, Cosmos flipped the phone open and put it to her ear.  
"Hello?"  
"Cosmos, it's Lyra," Lyra's voice sounded anxious. "I wasn't sure how you were feeling, so I wanted to see if you were coming in to work today."  
"Oh, yeah," said Cosmos, "I'm actually on my way into the building right now."  
"Great," said Lyra, sounding relieved. "I was worried maybe you were too sick to call. I tried calling your house, but no one answered."  
"I left the house a while ago," Cosmos said, "You might have called right after I walked out the door."  
"True," agreed Lyra, "Well, could you come to my office when you get up here? I've just got a few things I wanted to go over with you. No big deal, but I figured it'll be easier to get it out of the way before you start work rather than later."  
"Sure," said Cosmos as she followed the stream of people into the main lobby and towards the elevators, not quite sure why her stomach suddenly felt like a ton of lead. "I'll be right up."  
"Excellent," said Lyra, and hung up.  
Cosmos crammed herself into the elevator with nearly a dozen other workers and just managed to hit the button for her floor before the doors slid shut and she was shoved into one of the walls by the sheer amount of people in the elevator. She felt all of a sudden very anxious. What did Lyra want to see her so early for? That wasn't like her supervisor. She didn't remember a time before where Lyra had ever actually needed to call someone into her office to speak with her. Somehow, though Cosmos had no real proof of it, she had the sense that Sephiroth was somehow involved. Though that could easily be her being paranoid...  
Taking a few steadying breaths as the elevator rose, and finally arrived at her floor, Cosmos braced herself for whatever was coming as she squeezed herself off of the elevator and into the main office area. She saw a few people glance up as she walked into the office, but no one said anything, and barely anyone stopped working. The only person that made a show of stopping everything they were doing to notice Cosmos's arrival was a particular red-headed woman sitting at one of the first desks inside the office, who leaned back in her seat and leveled a murderous glare as Cosmos walked by.  
Cosmos didn't so much as glance at Jaila as she walked by, though she could feel the woman's eyes burning into the back of her head as she walked by on the way towards her own desk. She now guessed at what Lyra wanted to bring up with her. Maybe Jaila had heard about Cosmos's complaints, and wasn't happy about them. That wouldn't be too hard to believe...and, given the way Jaila was still sending her the evil eye as she set her bag down at her station and unpacked a couple of files, she figured that was probably exactly what the problem was.  
Oh, well, Cosmos thought dully, tucking the files away before putting her purse back over her shoulder and walking back through the office towards the hall that led to Lyra's office. If Jaila had a problem, that didn't make it Cosmos's problem.  
"Bitch," she heard Jaila mutter under her breath as she passed, and very nearly stopped walking, but managed to catch herself before she could even slow down and walked straight out of the office and down the hall towards Lyra's office.  
If Jaila wanted to call her names, let her. She had bigger things to worry about.  
The door to Lyra's office was slightly ajar, and as Cosmos peeked inside it was to see her supervisor with her back to her, speaking into her office phone.  
"No, sir, but she should be here soon," Lyra was saying into the receiver, twining the cord anxiously around her finger as she frowned out of the window that made up the back of her office. "Yes... Yes, sir... Absolutely, sir... Goodbye, sir."  
Lyra turned around and hung up the phone with a sigh, then stiffened as she spotted Cosmos standing there.  
"Cosmos, hi," she said, breaking into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "How are you feeling? You look better."  
"I'm feeling alright," said Cosmos, and her mouth felt suddenly very dry, her eyes riveted on the phone. "Is something wrong? Jaila looked like she'd seen a maggot when I walked in."  
Lyra frowned and sighed heavily, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "I wondered how she was going to take it. I did the same thing for her that I did for you. I let her know she had a complaint filed in regards to her behavior in the office, and she tried to figure out who it was, but I told her I wasn't allowed to say who. I guess she just assumes it was you."  
"Probably," said Cosmos dully, folding her arms over her chest, annoyance flaring. "I was afraid to leave my purse at my desk in case she rigged it to blow up when I leave work today."  
"Cosmos, she wouldn't do that," said Lyra a little reproachfully.  
"Not successfully, anyway," Cosmos said, raising an eyebrow. "Lyra, she called me a 'bitch' the second I walked into the office. She's basically harassing me."  
"I'll handle it," said Lyra firmly. "You're right. This has got to stop. Don't worry, I'll sort it out."  
Cosmos had a hard time believing that. How many times had she brought this issue up with Lyra, and how many times had it never gotten handled? She tried not to fault Lyra for it, but she was getting tired of hearing the same thing. If Lyra was going to fix it, she wished like hell her supervisor would go ahead and fix it, before something seriously happened and someone got hurt.  
"Anyway," sighed Lyra, still pinching her nose and looking weary, "That's not the only reason I asked you to come in here. I got a call a little bit ago—the one I was still on the phone for when you walked in—from General Sephiroth."  
Cosmos had somehow known that's what she would say, but it didn't make her any less inclined to stiffen, and feel suddenly nauseous.  
"He was worried about your illness over the weekend, too," Lyra told her, and Cosmos felt her nausea increase to see a little glimmer in her supervisor's eyes, as though she was somehow touched by one of the higher-up being concerned about someone as low down the chain as Cosmos. Or maybe Lyra was hopeful in the same way that Mrs. Alvira was that Cosmos might finally be getting into the market for a man...a very high ranking man.  
"Oh?" Cosmos asked, feeling bitterness on her tongue as she tried not to look too uncomfortable, "That's very considerate of him."  
'Considerate' her ass. He was keeping tabs on her.  
"Isn't it?" said Lyra eagerly, and Cosmos felt her spirits sink to see the hopeful gleam in her employer's eyes. "Honestly, Cosmos, between you and me, I think he might have taken an interest in you."  
Is that what it was, Cosmos wondered lamely. 'Interest'? She thought it was more like fixation.  
Which reminded her... She had promised Alstro she would speak to Lyra about this... This was exactly the kind of thing that needed to be brought to Lyra's attention, and now was the perfect time to do it. They were alone. No one was around to interrupt them...  
Cosmos fidgeted a little,feeling her heart rate spike uncomfortably high. She bit her lower lip, and glanced uncertainly at the door, as though to make sure no one would suddenly burst through it and stop her.  
"Is something wrong?" Lyra asked, noticing her fidgeting.  
"Actually..." Cosmos shuffled uncertainly for a minute, then threw caution to the winds. "There's...something I want to talk to you about."  
"Sure," said Lyra, frowning anxiously. "What about?”  
"I..." she started, and then froze as Lyra's office phone rang again.  
"Oh, for Gaia's sake," muttered Lyra, turning swiftly to her desk to check the extension number. "Damn...hold that thought, Cosmos. I have to answer this."  
Cosmos felt her stomach drop as Lyra picked up the phone.  
"Yes, sir," the blonde woman said politely.  
There was a pause as the other caller spoke, and Lyra flicked a glance to Cosmos.  
"Yes, sir, she's here... Did you need her right now? She—...Yes, sir... Yes, sir, I'll have her come up right away... Yes... Goodbye."  
She hung up and dragged a hand over her face with a groan. "Cosmos, I'm sorry. The General wants to see you right away. If you still need to talk to me, you can come straight back after you’ve finished, okay?"  
Cosmos nodded meekly, suddenly wishing she could just vanish through the floor. Did Sephiroth honestly have some kind of telepathy where he knew just when he needed to interrupt her? And what did he want? It wasn't even 10 o'clock in the morning and he was already calling her to his office?  
She fidgeted again, tightening her grip on her purse strap as she walked rigidly out of Lyra's office. She walked down the hall to the elevators, and numbly jabbed the button to call the lift.  
She waited, her mind buzzing frantically with all sorts of unwelcome thoughts, and, as she tried to distract herself while waiting for the lift, she glanced sideways into the office area. Everyone's heads were bent to their work. All of them diligently typing or filing away, except for one person. Jaila.  
The red head was sitting at her desk, but she wasn't working. She was sitting, arms crossed, glaring venomously at Cosmos through the doorway.  
Momentarily distracted by a pulse of irritation, Cosmos lifted an eyebrow inquiringly at the woman, unimpressed. Jaila's eyes narrowed further, and she gave an ugly sneer. Cosmos merely rolled her eyes, letting Jaila see, and faced forward again as the elevator doors dinged and slid open. She stepped inside, feeling Jaila's furious glare following her, and jabbed the button to the ninth floor.  
It was only after the doors slid shut and the lift began to rise that her anxiety returned tenfold, and she leaned into a corner of the elevator, gripping her purse strap tightly and trying to remember to breathe normally.  
"It's fine," she muttered, closing her eyes in an effort to further calm herself, "It's fine...it'll be fine."  
Would it? Would it, really?  
Her hands were beginning to shake as the lift arrived at the ninth floor and the doors slid open, that smooth female voice announcing her destination as if she didn't already know where she was. She stepped off of the elevator and started walking slowly down the hallway. She could already see Sephiroth's office door from here, and, she noticed, it was partially open. That was unusual... He never left his door open. At least not the times she'd been up here, which were starting to increase in number.  
She slowed further as she approached, and paused just outside as she heard male voices inside.  
"Come on, Sephiroth, don't tell me you're going to bow out of training again?" sighed a deeper male voice she didn't recognize.  
"Slacker," added another, a little higher than the first, and with a distinctly smug note to it.  
"I have work to do," came Sephiroth's calm, quiet voice from the other side of the door.  
Someone snorted. "Work? You mean this hellish amount of paperwork you've left for the past...what? Seven months now? Since when do you care about paperwork? You know the techs would take care of it if you'd let them," said the smug voice, sounding almost exasperated. "Seriously, what's with this sudden interest in actually doing what the department asks us to?"  
"Someone has to do it," said Sephiroth coolly.  
"The techs would," said the deeper voice in slight amusement. "Just like Genesis said, they do it for us all the time. It's what they get paid to do. Then again, didn't you push the tech that was working for you off on Genesis?"  
"Not that I mind," said Genesis's voice with a hint of satisfaction. "I get twice as much paperwork done having two people to do it."  
"Kind of counterproductive to say you get work done when someone else is doing it for you," mused the deeper voice idly.  
"You know what I meant," sighed Genesis irritably. "So, how about it, Sephiroth? Is Shinra's mightiest hero going to sit behind his desk all day again and let his muscles and skill deteriorate?"  
"You make it sound like I sit here all day and do nothing else," sighed Sephiroth.  
"You essentially don't," pointed out Genesis as Cosmos stood silent and still outside the door. "I'm starting to wonder if you have some kind of ulterior motive for this. Trying to get on the department's good side to get another promotion? What'll it be this time? SOLDIER Premier-Class?"  
"Knock it off, Genesis," sighed the deeper voice, "If he wants to do his paper work, let him. He's at least being productive."  
"I'm productive," argued Genesis.  
"Having two techs doing your paperwork for you does not make you productive," said the other voice resignedly.  
Genesis gave an inelegant sniff just as Cosmos worked up the nerve to knock lightly on the door.  
There was immediate silence, and she felt her heart lurch uncomfortably. She should have waited...  
"Come in," called Sephiroth.  
Holding her breath, and trying not to tremble all over, she pushed the door open and stepped quietly inside.


	11. Chapter 11

    Genesis and Angeal were standing in front of Sephiroth's desk. Or, Angeal was standing. Genesis was apparently more comfortable sitting _on_ Sephiroth's desk, his long legs stretching out in front of him, his arms and ankles crossed. Both of the SOLDIER 1st Class turned to look at her in mild surprise, and Genesis's eyebrows shot up so high on his forehead they disappeared straight into his shock of red hair. Angeal lifted an eyebrow as well, and glanced pointedly at Sephiroth, who didn't look at either of his companions as he stood up from his desk.  
    "Miss Rielle," he greeted her professionally, and she felt a shiver slide down her spine at the low cadence of his voice.   
    Genesis, she noticed, had the broadest smirk on his face as he glanced at Angeal—who shared a look with him—before they both looked at Sephiroth again. He was still very pointedly ignoring them both, except to nudge Genesis off of his desk as he walked around it.  
    "I don't mean to be rude," Genesis said smoothly as he straightened his coat and looked at Cosmos, "But you wouldn't happen to be helping Sephiroth with his paper work, would you?"  
    Cosmos blinked. "Only when he asks."  
    Genesis and Angeal shared another look, and Genesis clicked his tongue, his eyes dancing with mischief. Angeal gave a lame shrug, but was half smiling.   
    "I thought you two were going to go train," said Sephiroth, lifting an eyebrow at his comrades.  
    "Right, training," said Genesis with a little wink at Sephiroth as he sauntered towards the door, "That thing you won't be doing. Because you're doing _'paperwork'_."  
    Sephiroth's eyebrows rose higher, and Genesis snickered as he exited the office. Angeal walked after him, though he paused long enough beside Sephiroth to mutter, "He's never going to let you live this down, you know."  
    Sephiroth merely sighed and Angeal excused himself, nodding to Cosmos as he walked past and closed the office door as he left.   
    Once he and Genesis were both gone, the office seemed unnaturally quiet, and Cosmos felt her heart rate pick up again as Sephiroth turned his cat-like eyes on her.   
    "You'll have to excuse them," he said, "They had to get a special exemption on their intelligence exam to get in."  
    Cosmos merely nodded and looked at the floor, realizing too late that Sephiroth had been attempting to make a joke. By the time she'd thought of it, though, the General had already reseated himself behind his desk and was pulling several files from the top of his desk to lay out in front of him.   
    "You look as though you're feeling better," he commented off-handedly, searching his desk for a pen, not looking at her.   
    Cosmos nodded, and struggled for a second to find her voice. "Yes, sir."  
    "Good. Then, Miss Rielle, I'd like you to sort through these old cadet files and toss out any that aren't on this list," he said, stacking a few piles of paper together and holding them out to her with a list of names stapled together on top.   
    She walked forward a little stiffly to take them, forcing her hands not to shake as she took the papers from him and walked over to the small desk that still sat to the side of his in the corner. There was a machine shredder beside the chair this time, and as she sat herself down to begin sorting through the files, she glanced at it, uncertain if she should actually use it. The office was usually so quiet when they worked that somehow having a shredder running seemed obstructive.  
    "Just shred any of the old files that don't correlate with the new list," Sephiroth instructed, as though sensing her hesitation.  
    She nodded mutely, glancing briefly at him, but he had his head bent to his work and didn't look up.   
    She set to work, matching up names on the roster he'd given her with the files laid in front of her. Every now and then when she found a file without a name on the roster, the silence of the office was punctuated by the whirring and ripping of the paper shredder. It became a kind of rhythm. Silence. Rustling. Shredding. Silence again. Every few minutes, or so she thought, Cosmos would check her watch to see how long she'd been in the office.   
    Five minutes became ten, which became twenty, which became forty, and then an hour and fifteen minutes. An hour and forty-five minutes later, and Cosmos paused to stretch out a kink in her back from having been stooped over so long. She checked the final file in front of her, found it had no name, and sent it through the shredder. She piled the remaining files together, placed the roster on top, and got up to walk back over to Sephiroth's desk.  
    She gently set the files down near his arm, and he paused in the middle of scribbling a report to straighten up and look at them. He shifted them to one of the many filing boxes on his desk, then reached for a small set of lists in another box that he handed to her.   
    "This is an inventory of the materia the science department handed out last month," he told her as she took the papers, "I need you to fill out a new request form for the same amount of materia so they can prepare it."  
    She nodded and walked back over to the desk after retrieving a pen from the supply cup on his desk.   
    It took her another fifteen minutes to fill out the request form, and check it over for any mistakes before she got back up and walked over to hand it to him. He took it and began to scan it carefully as she set the pen back in the cup on his desk and turned away to retrieve her purse.   
    "Miss Rielle."  
    She paused and turned hesitantly back towards him. He was still looking at the paper, but crooked a finger at her.  
    Her stomach dropped to her toes, and she swallowed as a bitter taste filled her mouth. She set her purse down again, and walked over to his desk, pausing just out of arm's reach. She didn't dare get closer.  
    He set the paper down and slid it towards her, tapping one of the lines with a slender, gloved finger as he got up from his chair.  
    "Check this again, please," he requested softly before stepping away towards the filing cabinet.    
    She frowned as she stepped back over to examine the page, pulling it closer to her as she leaned slightly over the desk. She glanced behind her as she heard the filing cabinet drawers opening and closing, but Sephiroth seemed intently focused on sorting the files she'd just finished organizing, and she went back to looking the request form over. It wasn't until she had scanned the line a good five or six times more that she realized there was no mistake.  
    Frowning in bewilderment, she started to straighten up, and froze as her back came up against a warm, solid object. Apparently Sephiroth had finished sorting the files...  
    Cosmos waited, holding her breath, her heart racing so fast she thought it would explode, as Sephiroth leaned his weight into her from behind, waiting to feel his hands grabbing her, or his teeth biting down into her skin again. But she didn't. All she felt his the weight of his hard, heavy body leaning into hers, and the silken slide of his hair across her arms as it fell around them in a curtain as he braced his hands on either side of her, trapping her between himself and the desk as she continued to stare down at the sheet of paper in front of her.  
    His breath tickled the side of her neck, and she tensed, her heart rate climbing as she felt the smooth glide of his lips on her skin, tracing the curve of her throat.   
    "You seem to have a hard time remembering my requests, Miss Rielle," he murmured softly in her ear, making her shiver, "Or is it just blatant disregard? I believe I made it very clear you were to call me directly if you planned on being absent yesterday, so why did I hear it from your supervisor instead? And I still have yet to see that skirt, and I doubt being sick would have been enough to make you forget about it, considering the reminder I gave you last time..."  
    Her chest tingled just above her collarbone, where his mark was still visible beneath the collar of her shirt, and she swallowed as her throat went very dry. Her breaths were coming in short, shallow inhales, and every exhale left her just as quickly, leaving her slightly winded and dizzy. She sucked in a breath and immediately expelled it as she felt him shift against her, his hips cradling her bottom, and felt a prominent hardness that she wasn't entirely convinced was his belt buckle. Her skin prickled with a mixture of excitement and lust that was in total conflict with the nervousness circulating in her mind. Or was it fear?  
    Her mind kept playing back their last meeting. That moment where he'd marked her much more vivid than any other part, and her collarbone gave another phantom throb as he leaned his chest into her back, his hot breath skimming the side of her neck. She abruptly lost track of trying to decipher fear from anxiety as a single thought made her go rigid:  
    _He was going to hurt her again..._  
    She tensed as she felt his lips press lightly against her hammering pulse, and then spread apart, allowing his tongue to dart out to follow the path of her vein down to the curve between her shoulder and neck. He paused to press another light kiss there, then moved back again, stopping at her ear.  
    "Do you need another reminder, Miss Rielle?" he asked her very softly, his voice pitched low.   
    The sound of it, caressing her nerves like so much velvet, raised the hairs on the back of her neck, and while her body's lust spiked higher, producing wetness between her legs, her mind was a whirl of uncertainty and nerves, overwhelming her until she was shaking from the combination of feelings.  
    She bit down on her lower lip, trembling from head to toe, and shook her head minutely left and right. Gods, if he hurt her again, she didn't know what she was going to do... Fear of the pain he might inflict was starting to overshadow everything else, until she felt like hyperventilating.   
    She waited, tense and trembling, for what he would do next. He didn't seem in any hurry to do whatever it is. He just kept skimming his lips up and down along her neck, only moving to push the fall of her hair aside with his gloved fingertips. The slide of the leather on her already sensitive skin made her jump, and in spite of herself she leaned into the touch.   
    He saw her reaction and very lightly drew his fingertips along the back of her neck, then down and around to follow the curve of her shoulder, nudging the collar of her shirt open wider as he did so. Wherever the leather touched, she felt her skin grow warm, as though he were setting her on fire just with his fingertips, and she shivered as he trailed a slender finger down her arm to trace the veins on the back of her hand.   
    He kept his body firmly pinned against hers, though she noticed he didn't force her into the desk like he had when he'd pushed her into the filing cabinet the previous time. He made sure not to leave any room for her to get away, but he also didn't crowd her to the point she was jammed against the wooden surface. She was even more confused by his touch. It wasn't like last time either. Last time had been threatening, painful... He'd put a hand around her neck and pinned her arms above her head before he bit her. This time, the only part of him really touching her was his chest, and his hips, but his hands for the most part stayed away, either propping him up on the desk above her, or—in the case of his roaming hand—following the curves of her body.   
    The only other part of him on her was his mouth, but she had yet to feel his teeth. There were only light kisses, a few open mouthed, once or twice she felt the glide of his tongue across her pulse and shuddered in response as the warm heat produced another rush of fluid response from her.   
    She didn't understand... Why was he acting like this? Where was the pain she was expecting? Was he maybe just toying with her again? Letting her think there wouldn't be any so she would relax and then he'd let her have it?   
    She flinched a little as she felt his mouth closed down on the join between her neck and shoulder, then arched and moaned softly as he suckled gently, his tongue swirling hotly over her skin; at the same moment rocking his hips against hers and she felt her breath leave her again as she felt that prominent hardness press against her, burning like a brand through all their layers of clothing.   
    "I won't repeat myself again, Miss Rielle," he breathed in her ear, and she exhaled shakily as he leaned closer, his chest pressing into her, pushing her down slightly towards the desk so her hips rocked back into his, "Is that clear?"  
    She managed a tiny nod, and he exhaled a hot breath against her cheek.  
    "Good," he murmured, sliding one hand up her arm, his long fingers caressing her skin through her thin shirt until he reached up to hook his index finger under her chin, coaxing her face sideways to look over her shoulder at him as he leaned closer.   
    She glanced up into his blue-green eyes, which seared back at her, and immediately looked down, her heart throbbing.   
    "Look at me," he commanded in a voice barely above a whisper.  
    She did, with difficulty, and as she looked up into his eyes again she felt his lips brush across hers, and felt her throat close for a split second. She made a tiny sound in the back of her throat, and he paused, his eyes still riveted on hers, his mouth less than a breath from hers, then slowly drew back, allowing his hand to drop from her face back to the desk.  
    He kept his face close to hers, and she felt his bangs tickling her cheek as she stared up at him, confused and uncertain. After a long moment, he straightened up slowly and backed away from her, allowing her to straighten up as well, though her legs were shaking so badly that she couldn't immediately step away from the desk. By the time she'd managed to get her bearings, he'd seated himself in his chair again, and was back to work as usual. He didn't so much as look at her as he took back the paper he'd put in front of her, and she realized dimly it had been another ploy. She hadn't made a mistake after all...at least not with the paper.  
    "You may return to your office, Miss Rielle," he told her calmly, looking totally unruffled as he began sorting through some of the files on his desk. "That's all the work I have for you today."  
    She nodded numbly, making her uneven way around his desk, gathering her purse, and heading towards the door. She didn't look back at him as she walked out of his office, but had the oddest sensation that he was watching her, and had the almost maddening urge to turn back just before she closed the door, but somehow managed to resist and made it out without him calling her back, or anything else happening. Once outside, she walked down the hall to the elevator, one hand resting lightly against the nearest wall for support. She was still breathing unsteadily, and her legs wobbled as she walked, but she was unmarked. It felt surreal.   
    She got into the elevator after it arrived, and waited as the doors slid shut, almost forgetting to hit the button the return to her floor as she stared blankly at the floor. As the elevator descended, she reached up with a slightly shaky hand to touch her lips. She could still feel his breath there, and the warmth from his mouth, and felt herself frown.  
    Had he been going to kiss her? Seriously...? But why had he stopped? He'd definitely been intent on doing something... He always was... So what had stopped him?  
    She couldn't figure it out, and even after she'd returned to the fifth floor and gotten back to her desk she still was no closer to figuring it out. Everything was blurry in her mind, and she felt like she was in a trance as she took her seat and flipped her monitor on. But he hadn't hurt her...there had been no pain... Why?   
    She frowned as she began to punch data into her computer, her brows knitting together in concentration.   
    Was it a ploy? She'd heard of abusers using gentleness to mask their abuse, and to confuse their victim; make them think that they weren't actually going to hurt them... Was that what the General was doing? It wouldn't be a bad ploy, really, and maybe he'd done it before... He'd probably perfected it, she thought.   
    But then again...he seemed to prefer a straightforward approach over glossing things over... And also, what had that hesitation been? There had been hesitation...and she didn't think it had anything to do with him trying to get her comfortable with him. So...what was it?  
    "Looking a little preoccupied there, Rielle," sneered a voice in front of her, jerking her back to reality to look up from her monitor to see Jaila smirking at her.   
    "Well, work does that," she replied coolly, glad her voice didn't shake, in spite of everything in her mind being all jumbled up.   
    "Oh, yeah?" Jaila's smirk made her uneasy. As did the knowing look in her eye. "Work all that you're thinking about?"  
    "Is there something you want, Jaila?" Cosmos sighed, raising an eyebrow and trying to ignore the uncomfortable twisting in her gut.  
    Jaila couldn't know anything... There was no logical way that she could know anything. And yet the broadening smirk spreading across her vibrantly red lips suggested otherwise.  
    Cosmos kept herself calm, merely sitting idly, eyebrows raised as Jaila leaned towards her across the desk.  
    "Why do you keep getting called up to General Sephiroth's office?" the redhead asked in an undertone, and her tone was so disgustingly insinuative that it made Cosmos want to grimace.   
    Instead, she merely blinked slowly. "I suggest you ask him," she answered calmly. "Since you seem to have so much free time, maybe he'd let you sort some of the cadet rosters and free up my time to do my work down here."  
    "Sorting cadet rosters, huh?" snickered Jaila as she leaned away, and raised her voice so it carried through the office, "Like that's the only thing you do in his office, Rielle. All the time you spend up there, I'm surprised nobody else has figured it out yet."  
    "What?" Cosmos asked, managing an innocent look as coworkers craned around to look at her. "Figured out how to sort cadet rosters alphabetically? That is kind of a problem. You should figure out how to do that, Jaila. That's kind of an elementary thing to know. You start with 'a' and go to 'z', remember?"  
    There was a round of light snickering around them, and Jaila's eyes narrowed, though her vicious smile stayed in place.   
    "Laugh now, Rielle," she sang under her breath, so only Cosmos could hear her, "'Cause things are going to start coming back to bite you in the ass before you know it. And you're not going to like it."  
    Cosmos felt an uncomfortable lurch in the pit of her stomach, but managed to keep her composure as Jaila sauntered off back towards her desk. She didn't know what the woman was up to, but she figured it wouldn't take long for her to find out. She could only hope that whatever it was, she could turn it back on Jaila tenfold, just to wipe that arrogant sneer off the woman's face.   
    Sighing, resigning herself to the idea that whatever Jaila was up to, she couldn't really do anything about it, and got back to her work.


	12. Chapter 12

    Cosmos left the office as usual at the end of the day, exhausted, and with a thousand things going through her mind. She got on the elevator with a mass of other office workers headed out for the evening, and let her head rest against the back of the elevator as the lift descended. She got off, then walked out of the office and immediately boarded the train home, taking a brief cat nap before the train arrived at her station.  
    It wasn't until she was off of the train, and halfway back to the house, already fishing for her house keys, that she realized with a pang that she had forgotten something. The only problem was, she couldn't remember what. She frowned, still fishing around for her keys as she arrived on her doorstep, trying to remember what it was she'd forgotten. She knew it had been important, and began to backtrack through the day to see if she could get a clue.  
    She found her keys as she was retracing her steps up until her lunch break, and walked into the house. She was still thinking back over the two hours she'd spent typing in data at her desk, wondering if she'd left something there maybe, when Alstro poked her head out of the kitchen and gave her a little smile.  
    "Hey, you," her friend greeted her, brown eyes twinkling as she stepped out of the kitchen with a sandwich in hand. "How was work?"  
    Cosmos frowned, noticing the anxious gleam in her friend's eyes, and she had a sudden pang of realization as she connected Alstro's worried expression with the gap in her memory. She had completely forgotten to go back and talk to Lyra about Sephiroth...  
    "It was...fine," sighed Cosmos, unable to stop herself from reaching up and dragging a hand down her face in aggravation. She was an idiot. A complete and utter moron...  
    Alstro eyed Cosmos with a skeptical expression, munching thoughtfully on a bite of her sandwich. "If it was fine, why do you look like you want to bang your head on the wall?" she asked suspiciously.  
    "Because I'm an idiot," muttered Cosmos, slouching into the kitchen.  
    "Did something happen?" Alstro asked, frowning as she turned to watch her friend.   
    "I tried to tell Lyra about Sephiroth," Cosmos sighed, dumping her purse on the kitchen table and marching over to yank open the refrigerator door.   
    "And...?" prompted Alstro hopefully.  
    "I forgot," said Cosmos bluntly.  
    There was a pause.   
    "You forgot," repeated Alstro dimly. "As in...you forgot to tell her?"  
    "Yeah," sighed Cosmos, grabbing a soda out of the fridge and closing the door. "I got called to do something else and then...forgot..."  
    "Did you really forget?" Alstro questioned uncertainly.  
    "Yes," said Cosmos, looking her in the eyes. "I really did. I meant to tell her. I was right on the verge of telling her, and then...yeah..."  
    "And then 'yeah'?" repeated Alstro, frowning, her eyebrows drawing together. "What does that mean, Cos?"  
    Cosmos cracked open the soda and took a long drink before answering. "Sephiroth called me up to his office again."  
    She felt more than heard Alstro's intake of breath.  
    "And...?" Alstro prompted in a low voice, and Cosmos could tell her friend was preparing for the worst.   
    "I did some paperwork," Cosmos answered, shrugging lamely, looking down into the rim of the soda can, watching the bubbles fizzle faintly just below the metal rim.   
    There was a very pregnant pause between them, and Cosmos knew Alstro was waiting for more.   
    "Did he touch you?" her friend asked eventually when Cosmos didn't volunteer any further information.  
    Cosmos nodded mutely, and almost instantly felt Alstro's anger fill the room.  
    "Did he hurt you?" Alstro demanded at last, and her voice was very carefully controlled. She was working very hard not to blow up.   
    "No," murmured Cosmos, and lifted her head to frown at the dark haired girl. "That's what gets me..."  
    Alstro frowned back, looking slightly bemused. "Cosmos, if he's putting his hands on you, doesn't that technically count as hurting you?" she asked.   
    Cosmos shrugged. "I guess I mean...there wasn't any actual pain is all... The last time, there was."  
    "Whether there was or not shouldn't matter," pointed out Alstro quietly, her dark eyes glittering with a mixture of anger and fear. "He shouldn't be touching you."  
    "But it was weird today, Al," Cosmos insisted, setting her soda down so she could fold her arms over her chest, looking thoughtfully at the floor, thinking back. "It was like...I don't know...it was like he hesitated."  
    "Like he hesitated?" repeated Alstro in confusion. "Either he did or he didn't."  
    "Then I guess he did," sighed Cosmos, shrugging lamely.   
    "How did he hesitate?" Alstro inferred, narrowing her eyes slightly. "What was he about to do?"  
    "I would have sworn he was going to kiss me or something," admitted Cosmos, then felt a little stupid for saying it.   
    Kissing sounded sweet and innocent. What Sephiroth had been doing to her every time she came into his office since this whole fiasco had started was anything but... The two just didn't seem like they connected, but she would have sworn up and down that's what he had been going to do before he'd stopped today. He'd been too close for anything else. His hands hadn't been all over her as they usually were, which was another thing. She might have thought if he'd been more inclined to touch her like he usually had that maybe he would have been hesitating to strip her down and lay her out on his desk, but his hands had--for the most part--stayed off of her. The only time he'd really made contact was when he'd pushed her hair aside.   
    "You honestly think that's what he was after?" asked Alstro, looking even more bewildered now. "So why did he stop?"  
    "I have no idea," admitted Cosmos, pushing a hand tiredly through the fall of her hair, wincing as she caught her fingers in some tangles. "I really don't...That's why I'm not sure what's going on... But...he didn't physically hurt me today."  
    "I don't care if he did or not," said Alstro tersely. "So long as he's putting his hands on you, he's hurting you. That's the end of it."  
    Cosmos nodded absently, not fully listening. She was still thinking. What had Sephiroth been thinking, though? He seemed so capable of reading her mind, if it weren't for the fact that she knew there was no conceivable way for him to do so she would have wondered if she could learn how to read his. But he was so careful. So cautious. She considered herself constantly on edge when she was around him, always wary, and yet he'd caught her by surprise today... There didn't seem to be any way to predict what he would do next.   
    If she could, maybe she wouldn't be in this mess at all...  
    Alstro heaved a deep sigh then, drawing Cosmos's attention, as she slumped into the couch cushions, looking tired and annoyed.  
    "You NEED to talk to Lyra, Cos," Alstro told her firmly.  
    "You don't have to tell me that," Cosmos pointed out with a tiny smirk, even as she felt a faint twinge of annoyance. If anyone knew she needed to talk to Lyra, she certainly did. She was the one having to go through all of this after all...  
    "Did anything else happen at work today I should hear about?" Alstro asked after a little pause. "Anything GOOD?"  
    "Good? At work?" Cosmos gave a harsh laugh. "As if. Jaila seems determined to make life even worse for me than it already is, but I'm not sure how she plans on doing it."  
    "Uh-oh," muttered Alstro, looking over the back of the couch at Cosmos as the girl picked up her soda and came to join her. "What did she say or do today?"  
    "More or less threatened me that things were going to be hellish," sighed Cosmos, seating herself on the couch and tucking her legs neatly underneath her. "Something about how I could laugh for now but it was going to get worse before I knew it and then I'd be sorry."  
    "Did she really say that to you?" demanded Alstro furiously, dark eyes flaring with outrage.   
    "More or less," sighed Cosmos, taking another sip of her soda.   
    "You need to report that woman's ass," muttered Alstro, glowering.   
    "I have, remember?" Cosmos asked tiredly, smirking. "You were here."  
    "Oh, yeah," said Alstro, remembering abruptly the moment over the weekend when Lyra had called. "I guess that didn't get very far, huh?"  
    "Oh, it got plenty far," snorted Cosmos. "Why do you think Jaila's so pissed? Lyra basically told her she'd gotten a complaint and that Jaila needed to shape up or ship out. Jaila doesn't know for sure it was me, but she suspects."  
    "Well, she's right," said Alstro with a devious little smirk. "And it's no less than she deserves."  
    "Yep," sighed Cosmos, shaking her head. "Hopefully whatever she's got planned either backfires or is so horribly worthless no one cares. I seriously doubt there's much she could do that would be worse than what's already going on."  
    Alstro nodded sympathetically, but there was still a flicker of anger in her eyes that had nothing to do with Jaila and everything to do with Sephiroth. She honestly didn't care that he hadn't physically hurt Cosmos today. As far as she was concerned, any time he got her alone in his office was hurting her. Cosmos was still terrified of him, and today he'd apparently even gotten in the way of her telling Lyra about what he was doing.   
    She was almost starting to wonder if maybe the General had supernatural capabilities... Mind-reading didn't seem that far of a stretch to be honest. She'd heard rumors about what went on at Shinra, and telepathy would be like the tip of the iceberg if even half of what she'd heard about Shinra was true. Still...she figured it was probably just her overactive imagination being fueled by worry and irritation that something hadn't already been done by now...  
    She really wanted nothing more than to storm into Shinra herself and tell them to get their act together and take care of her friend. Cosmos didn't deserve the shit she was going through...especially not for a company that claimed to take excellent care of its workers and all that bull.  
    "Do you think anyone would notice or care if I decided to just off Jaila?" Alstro asked then, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling.  
    Cosmos snorted into her soda, coughing a laugh. "I don't know if they'd care, but they'd definitely notice," she snickered, throwing an amused look at her friend.   
    "Ah, well," sighed Alstro in a dramatically disappointed voice. "It was a thought."  
    "Why was it a thought exactly?" Cosmos asked, setting her drink down to avoid potentially snorting anymore if she ended up laughing again.  
    "Well I can't kill Sephiroth," pointed out Alstro mildly. "He's too strong. He'd kill me first. I figure at least with Jaila I have a chance. There might be a couple witnesses but no one I couldn't handle."  
    "Now, now," Cosmos soothed, though she was smirking.   
    "I'm really upset about this, Cosmos," Alstro told her then, being dead serious as she turned to frown at her friend. "This can't keep happening. Sephiroth is bad enough. Jaila needs to keep her shit to herself. You've got enough going on without her piling on extra mess for you to have to deal with... Report her again. I don't know if it'd actually do anything, but if she keeps this up it's going to end really really badly."  
    "I know," Cosmos told her, reaching out to gently rub her friend's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I'll handle it."  
    Alstro wished she could believe it. It wasn't that she didn't believe Cosmos wouldn't handle it. She believed that. At least with Jaila. She was more concerned about Lyra not doing HER end of the job and taking Jaila to the higher-ups to discipline. The woman was nice enough, but she seemed more or less useless, and totally unobservant if she hadn't noticed Sephiroth's actions by now...   
    "I'm hungry," she complained then, and she was. Stressing like this made her work up an appetite. "I want pizza."  
    "We can get pizza," said Cosmos with a little smirk. "Again."  
    "I don't care if it's again. It's pizza and I want it," said Alstro firmly, already hoisting herself up from the couch to go retrieve the phone to order some. "With extra pepperoni. And sausage. Maybe some peppers. Yeah, I want peppers."  
    Cosmos rolled her eyes in fond amusement as she watched Alstro meander off to go order their dinner, though inside she felt a stir of unease. She knew Alstro was upset, and couldn't blame her. She was upset, too. She just wished she knew how to handle it all... With Jaila it was easy. She could just report the woman and blow her off. With Sephiroth...she still had no idea what to do about that... She'd been so close today, standing in Lyra's office on the verge of telling her, but then they'd been interrupted. She almost wasn't sure if she would have the courage to say anything tomorrow... She might not even get a chance. Today, at least, she'd been called to Lyra's office so she had an excuse not to immediately go to work at her desk.   
    But what about tomorrow? What if tomorrow she couldn't spare two seconds to talk to Lyra? What if Lyra wasn't available when Cosmos needed her? There were a million different things that could prevent them from talking... Cosmos knew she could call Lyra, but something about that didn't seem right...   
    It almost felt as though she could be made into a liar if she just phoned in the problem...  
She wished she had someone else to call, or report to. Someone with at least a little more leverage than Lyra…other than Sephiroth. Someone like Zack Fair. Zack was a Commander, and while he might work closely with Sephiroth, she somehow got the feeling if anyone in SOLDIER would listen to her, it would be him. He acted like a man who would listen before he judged.  
    But Zack was Sephiroth's underling, her logical voice reminded the smaller one. Zack might be a step up from Lyra, but he was still a step or two down from Sephiroth…not to mention she didn’t know him all that well and even if he did listen to her, what was to stop him from going straight to Sephiroth and asking him? And what was to stop Sephiroth from denying it? But what if he went to someone other than Sephiroth…? After all, Zack knew Angeal...and Angeal was on Sephiroth's level.   
    Cosmos took a moment to consider that. The image of Angeal standing in Sephiroth's office briefly came to her mind, then shifted over almost instantly to Genesis, with his smirking mouth and his twinkling eyes full of knowing as he had looked between her and Sephiroth.   
    He thought they were together... He fully believed Sephiroth had a thing for her. Well, thought Cosmos dully, Sephiroth kind of DID have a thing for her. Just not in the way Genesis might be thinking.   
    The redheaded SOLDIER had undoubtedly been envisioning a reciprocating relationship between her and the General, where they were both involved and consenting and probably head over heels for each other or some nonsense... He had no idea what it was really like... That she wasn't consenting. That there was no reciprocation. There were no feelings. Just Sephiroth and his unexplainable, dangerous lust.   
    "Thirty minutes until pizza," Alstro announced from the kitchen, hanging the phone back up on the dock. "You want to get a shower while we wait? You look beat."  
    Cosmos considered, then shook her head. "I'll wait till after dinner," she said, smiling at Alstro.   
    Mostly because she didn't want to have to get up and go upstairs to shower, and also because she wasn't sure if she wanted to be alone just now. While today hadn't been anywhere near as traumatic as the others had been, she was still emotionally exhausted, and she had the feeling if she was alone for too long her mind would venture to dangerous places. Places she'd rather avoid for the time being. Like memories of Sephiroth...and Jaila's ugly sneer...  
    They sat and watched a sitcom while they waited for the pizza. Alstro told Cosmos a few things about her day--which had been spent mostly in bed since she hadn't had to go back to work for the day. She'd apparently gotten to talk to a couple of Alstro's neighbors, though, and she thought they all seemed very nice.   
    "I think Mrs. Alvira wants me to find you a man," Alstro confided in Cosmos, looking amused. "She asked if we were relatives or friends and after I finished telling her our history she said I was doing you a disservice if I let you keep on without finding some nice gentleman to keep you warm at night. If I thought she wouldn't have keeled over I thought about telling her I already keep you warm since we share the bed and all that. But I also figured you wouldn't appreciate your neighbors having even more rumors about you."  
    "I really wouldn't," agreed Cosmos with a little smirk.   
    Alstro snickered.   
    The pizza arrived shortly afterward, and they spent the next hour or so eating slice after slice and channel surfing until it had grown dark outside the window, and Alstro got up to turn on some the lamps inside.   
    "Well," Cosmos sighed, tossing out the now empty pizza box and stretching her arms over her head. "I'm going to go take a shower, and then come back and zone out in front of the TV again."  
    "I'm going to zone out in front of the TV while you get a shower, and then trade you," Alstro said with a little grin from the couch.   
    "Sounds good," smirked Cosmos as she started to trudge upstairs.   
    "Hey, Cos."  
    Cosmos paused and glanced back at Alstro, who was watching her with a now concerned expression.   
    "You okay?" she asked softly.  
    Cosmos blinked, surprised, then nodded, giving her friend a gentle smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. It'll work out."  
    Alstro nodded, though she didn't look entirely convinced, and Cosmos walked up the rest of the stairs and into the bathroom.   
    After the door had shut and Alstro heard the water cut on, she slumped back against the couch cushions again, frowning at the TV screen.  
    "I hope so," she murmured.  
    Cosmos sat up for an extra hour after Alstro had gone to bed that night, thinking through how she would go about telling Lyra about Sephiroth. She kept wavering between coming straight out and telling Lyra she was being harassed, or starting off with a sort of caution that demanded Lyra’s full attention and understanding... Neither approach seemed to fit, somehow, but as the clock on her nightstand ticked closer to dawn, and the job-conscious voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she had to be up in less than eight hours, she finally decided that she’d go with her age old approach. She would say whatever came to her mind first, and just roll with whatever came after that.  
    She sighed, scrubbing her hands over her face as her eyes drooped with exhaustion and her mind reeled with all the possible outcomes of tomorrow’s confession. She could lose her job…she might quit anyway though if no one was going to handle it, she reminded herself dully as she settled down to sleep with the covers pulled up to her chin. The other possibility was a confrontation with Sephiroth… As his underling, Lyra might have to go to the General to alert him of the accusation, and then possibly even to his higher ups to report it as well. There might be a corporate hearing of some kind, where Cosmos was required to testify about her different encounters with Sephiroth in front of the President...  
    The thought made her stomach roll slightly. She didn’t think Shinra’s president would allow his star member and General to take the fall for something like this…especially not if it would threaten to destroy Shinra’s reputation… More than likely, she thought, she’d be given a handsome compensation and a sparkling recommendation for whatever job she chose next in exchange for her resignation and the promise of silence. It seemed like the kind of thing they would do…  
    She snorted in disgust and rolled onto her back, staring up blankly at the ceiling. She really wished she could be less negative about tomorrow, but after everything that had happened, coupled with the stress of having to go in tomorrow to see Lyra, and the threat of Jaila’s supposed retaliation hanging over her head, she wasn’t feeling all that positive at the moment…  
    Ah, well, she thought sleepily, allowing her eyes to drift shut as sleep finally came over her, she’d sort it out in the morning, and whatever happened would happen. Either way, it would all end tomorrow.


	13. Chapter 13

    Cosmos woke up nearly two hours before her alarm clock went off, and couldn't get back to sleep. She laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, and listening to Alstro's quiet snores beside her. She knew it was nerves that had woken her up, but she couldn't seem to do anything to get them to settle, and the longer she laid there in the dark, the more anxious she got. She could just imagine all the ways she would mess up what she wanted to say to Lyra, or getting interrupted like yesterday, or any number of things that could go wrong to keep her from talking to her supervisor about Sephiroth.   
    She heaved a sigh, rolling onto her stomach, and buried her face in her pillow, feeling her stomach rolling with nausea. She had absolutely no confidence about today... If she thought she could swing it, she'd call out and then tell Lyra while they were on the phone, but that would be the coward's way out, and it would give Lyra a chance to talk to Sephiroth while she wasn't there. And if Cosmos wasn't there, Sephiroth had every chance to deny her accusation. Or make up some excuse that sounded plausible.   
    She couldn't let that happen...  
    She sighed again and lifted her head just enough to check the time on her alarm clock. Five minutes until she was supposed to get out of bed. Well, she thought dully, reaching out to shut off the alarm so it wouldn't go off, she might as well go ahead and get up, seeing as she didn't have anything better to do.  
    She slid as silently out of bed as she could, not wanting to wake Alstro, and tip-toed out of the bedroom and down the hallway to the bathroom. After she revived herself with a quick shower and toweled off, she returned to the bedroom, snuck her clothes for the day out of the closet, and crept back to the bathroom to change. Once she'd slid into her blouse and slacks for the day, she made her way down to the living room, turned on the TV, put the volume as low as she could and still be able to hear it, then went to the kitchen to get the coffee for Alstro started, as well as a bagel for herself.   
    While her bagel toasted and the coffee brewed, she stood in the kitchen entranceway with a glass of milk and watched the morning news. The weather seemed like it was going to clear up until noon and then storm later. She made a mental note to pack an umbrella and turned to fetch her bagel out of the toaster as it dinged.   
    As she was pouring a mug of coffee for Alstro, she heard a tired yawn behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see her friend trudging into view, rubbing her eyes.  
    "Morning, sleepyhead," she greeted Alstro with a little smile, handing over the coffee mug when her friend looked at it hopefully.  
    "Morning," mumbled Alstro, taking a sip of the dark liquid and making a contented sound. "Good coffee. You look perky this morning. Did you actually have a cup for yourself?"  
    "No," said Cosmos, wrinkling her nose, "You know I hate coffee."  
    Alstro grinned and shrugged, leaning back against the counter. "It could happen. You do look hyped up."  
    "Probably nerves," sighed Cosmos ,shrugging lamely. "I woke up a couple of hours ago, honestly, but I only got out of bed about twenty minutes ago."  
    Alstro frowned sympathetically. "You're going to tell your boss today, though," she said encouragingly, "And then it'll get taken care of, one way or the other."  
    "Yeah," murmured Cosmos, not entirely certain.  
    "Worst case scenario," Alstro added, "Quit. If they can't keep you safe, you shouldn't keep them as a job."  
    Cosmos nodded. She agreed, and at the same time she was terrified of having to quit Shinra. She liked being able to support herself, ad live her own life. Shinra's generous paycheck gave her the ability to do just that. If she quit, she'd have to move to a different house, probably, because she didn't think it was fair to ask Alstro to move in with her, even if her friend had mor or less done just that. But Alstro lived in a place that was closer to her job for a reason, and if Cosmos left Shinra, there was no point in in staying where she was. It made more sense to move to Alstro's place... Still...  
    "You'll be okay," Alstro told her with a soft smile, reaching out to squeeze her should reassuringly. "You've got this."  
    Cosmos nodded again, returning a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Her heart was already racing, and her stomach had tangled itself up so thoroughly that she only managed a couple bites of her bagel before she lost her appetite. She dumped the remainder of it, then went out to sit in the living room, trying to distract herself with the traffic report of the day.   
    Alstro watched her from the kitchen, still sipping her coffee and frowning. She could tell Cosmos was stressing, and couldn't blame her in the slightest. This wasn't going to be an easy day, especially if Cosmos was required to face Sephiroth, but if it didn't happen today Alstro had the feeling it never would. AT the very least, this would give Cosmos the chance to make her escape from Shinra. If they decided that they couldn't risk Sephiroth's reputation, they'd fire Cosmos, which would mean she was free to move in with Alstro and take the job at Nero's bar. And if Shinra decided to look further into the issue first before making a decision, they'd probably put Cosmos on temporary leave, which would also give her a chance to turn in her resignation and leave.   
    Alstro got the sense, though she didn't like to think about it, that Cosmos didn't really want to leave Shinra, which she could understand and at the same time couldn't. She knew the pay for a Shinra employee--even a lower level one--was a fair amount better than what she got working at the bar, but given everything she'd heard from Cosmos for the past week about Jaila and Sephiroth and everything else, she didn't see how the money could possibly be worth it. She guessed Cosmos liked her independence, but working at the bar gave Alstro plenty of independence; she just had to settle for living in a less pleasant part of the Sectors. It wasn't all bad, though.   
    Her neighbors looked out for her, the ones that knew her anyway. She knew they'd look out for Cosmos, too, once they got more familiar with her. And she felt confident Cosmos would love working at the bar once she got used to it. It was just a matter of getting her there.  
    Half an hour later, ten minutes earlier than she normally would have left, Cosmos was heading out the door while Alstro took a seat on the couch.  
    "Good luck!" Alstro called after her friend as the front door started to close.   
    "Thanks!" Cosmos called back, managing a smile before she shut the door and locked it behind her.   
    As with the previous morning, Mrs. Alvira was out in her garden, tending her flower boxes.   
    "Good morning, dear," the woman greeted her with a friendly smile. "Off to work?"  
    "Yep," said Cosmos, smiling briefly back in response. "Have a good day, Mrs. Alvira."  
    "You, too, dear," the older woman returned, waving a dirt spattered gardening glove as Cosmos hurried away in the direction of the trains station.   
    She passed Marcello as he was opening his magazine stand and managed a wave as he turned to smile at her. The platform to the train was packed when she arrived, which took her a little by surprise. She knew she'd left a little earlier than usual, so she'd been hoping to avoid a crowd, but it looked like it had had the opposite effect. Sighing, she squeezed in between two business men chattering rapidly about some conference or other, and stood on the edge of the platform, waiting. The early train arrived a few short minutes later, and everyone crammed inside. Cosmos was lucky enough that she'd been standing close to the doors and managed to get a seat while everyone else jostled for standing room and easy access to the handle bars overhead.  
    Once all the early morning commuters were sandwiched in, and Cosmos was squeezed as far back into her seat as she could manage to avoid pressing her nose into the stomach of the man standing in front of her as he braced himself on the handrails, the train took off with a lurch.  
    Cosmos hugged her bag to her stomach, looking off out the window as the station flew by, her mind reeling with at least a thousand different thoughts.   
    What would she say to Lyra once she got to the office? Should she call her from her desk or just go straight to her office and just wait there if Lyra didn't happen to be there? What if there was someone with Lyra? Or what if Lyra asked her to come back later? What if she got sent away and forgot again?  
    She began chewing on her lower lip as the train sped through a tunnel and then back into the open again.   
    She had no idea what she was supposed to say or how she should approach Lyra... What if Lyra decided to go talk to Sephiroth immediately and asked Cosmos to come with her? What if other people in the office heard? What if Jaila heard?  
    Jaila already thought, or at least liked to insinuate, that Cosmos and Sephiroth had something going on behind the scenes. If she got her teeth into the truth of what was happening, she would undoubtedly warp it all to hell to make Cosmos look like the office slut. Cosmos felt her stomach contract uncomfortably as she imagined all the kinds of things Jaila would say about her if she got wind of what was going on...  
    Still, she had to tell Lyra. What Jaila or anyone else thought was irrelevant. Someone had to know what Sephiroth was doing, before he could it again or to someone else...  
    Cosmos knew full and well this could mean her job, and she didn't want to think about that, but if it came down to her job or her safety at work, she'd take the latter. Just because Sephiroth was a famous war-hero and SOLDIER's poster boy didn't mean he could get away with things like this.   
    Her collarbone gave a sudden, unexpected twinge, and she frowned, automatically lifting a hand to cover the spot, and glancing down her collar to see the faint edges of the still-healing bruise under her fingertips. Memories started to surface, and she pushed them down forcefully, her mouth going a little dry. She didn't want to think about how she'd gotten the mark. She didn't want to think about possibly receiving another...  
    She was suddenly painfully aware of both the mark, and her choice in slacks. It was stupid. She shouldn't have to think about that. She shouldn't have to worry about what would happen just because she'd chosen to wear pants instead of a damned skirt, but her heart was suddenly going a significant pace faster than was probably healthy, and she felt a little breathless as she rubbed her fingers absentmindedly over the bruise on her chest.   
    She wouldn't let him control her, she thought firmly, frowning down into her lap. She wouldn't let him decide what she did, either in her job, or in anything else. She wouldn't let fear dominate her. She was going to report him. She was going to tell Lyra what he was doing, and that was that.   
    She began reciting the different things she could say as the train stopped at different stations, trying to think over how best to approach the situation.   
    "'Lyra, I have to talk to you'," she muttered under her breath once the car had cleared out enough that wasn't surrounded by people, giving her a chance to rehearse. "'I'm not sure how to say this, but'... No, that gives her too much time to get worked up... 'Lyra, last week, the day Jaila and I got sent to Sephiroth's office'... No, that's too much information. If she wants to know when, she'll ask and then I can tell her."  
    She glanced up as the overhead speakers crackled to life and announced the next stop was the Shinra office, and heaved a heavy sigh, feeling her heart rate speed up and her stomach sink to her toes. She was not looking forward to this. What if she completely screwed up? What if she forgot to mention something important?  
    She felt her blood chill a little as another thought came to her, even more terrifying than the others.   
    What if Lyra didn't believe her?  
    What if Lyra thought this was some big hoax, maybe caused by Jaila's continued taunting? What if she thought Cosmos was overreacting to something Sephiroth had said and didn't believe he'd actually touched her?  
    Cosmos touched the spot on her chest again as she stepped off of the train and onto the platform leading to the office. She could show Lyra the bruise, certainly, but had it been long enough that they might not be able to confirm it was Sephiroth based on the bite? Or would they even bother testing it? Would they simply fire her for being so brazen as to accuse their top fighter and worker of something so outrageous? She could believe it of them...  
    Her breathing sped up as she walked into the front lobby, past the guards and receptionists, and got onto the elevator to head to the fifth floor. She jabbed the button, managing to reach around a woman on her cellphone before the elevator started to move, and as the numbers slowly climbed, so did her pulse.   
    By the time the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor, she felt downright nauseous, but kept her breathing as steady as possible and walked out. She paused outside the elevator doors, thinking. She could go to her desk and call Lyra, but she could also just go straight to her office. If Lyra wasn't there, then she could go to her desk and leave a message. Yes she'd do that.   
    Taking a huge breath, and tightening her grip on her purse, she marched off down the hallway towards Lyra's office, not even glancing into the main office area full of cubicles. She didn't want to see Jaila glaring at her again like she had the day before, or have to deal with another snide comment when her nerves were already so frayed.   
    She took slow, calculated breaths as got nearer to Lyra's office. The door was ajar, and the light was on, but Cosmos couldn't hear anything that suggested her supervisor was present. Still, that didn't mean there wasn't still hope. Taking a final breath, she stepped forward and knocked on the door.   
    Nothing.  
    Feeling her heart starting to sink, even as her pulse decelerated, she gently pushed the door open enough to be able to stick her head inside and look around. Sure enough, Lyra was absent.  
    Heaving a deep sigh, caught somewhere between relief and disappointment, Cosmos withdrew her head and stood outside a moment, thinking. She could go back to her desk and call Lyra's phone and leave a message that she wanted to talk to her, but she ran the risk of being overhead by everyone else in the office... She could also go into Lyra's offic and leave a handwritten note...but that also had the risk of someone stumbling across it. Still, Cosmos could easily make a handwritten note ambiguous but urgent.  
    She pushed the door open wide enough to enter, and also to ensure that if someone happened by they'd be able to see her and not think she was trying to be sneaky. She approached Lyra's desk, immediately spotted a large notepad and a set of pens in a cup, and snagged both. She took a pen and uncapped it, thinking as she contemplated the notepad. Finally, after a couple minutes of thought, she bent down to scribble across it:  
    'Lyra, need to talk to you. Forgot to mention it yesterday before laving. Please call ASAP.'  
    Cosmos hesitated to write her name, in case someone did come in and find the note, and instead jotted down her desk and phone numbers. Lyra would recognize them immediately and be able to call.  
    Setting the pen back in its cup, and setting the note in the dead center of her supervisor's desk, Cosmos took a final breath to steady herself before walking back out of the office, closing the door so it was only ajar again, and then proceeded back down the hallway towards the main office; mind reeling.   
    How long would it be before Lyra got back to find the note? What if Sephiroth called her up to his office before Lyra could call her to talk to her?  
    Cosmos knew she was working herself up again, but she couldn't help it. It had been less than ten minutes since she'd arrived and her plans were already getting semi-derailed. All she could think about were the what-if's that could happen, and the more she thought about them, the more anxious she became. Trying to calm herself, figuring there was no point in worrying more than she already was, she took a deep breath as she rounded the corner back into the main office area, and forced herself to focus as she stepped through the doors. 


	14. Chapter 14

    Cosmos looked up as she entered the office, and realized it had gone dead silent. She paused just inside the door to the work area and looked around, frowning, and felt a sickening twist in the pit of her stomach as she saw that every single person in the office was staring at her. Women stood in small groups, whispering loudly, their eyes gleaming with suspicion and disgust, and the men were giving her very deliberate looks. As she walked slowly towards her desk, one of the blond men that worked near her leaned out of his cubicle to leer at her.   
    "Yo, Rielle," he called as she walked past, "Nice work last night."  
    She paused, looking at him in confusion and he winked.   
    "I didn't work last night," she said slowly, feeling dread starting to settle in the pit of her stomach.  
    "Sure you didn't," he said with a conspiratorial wink and a smirk, "At least not on the clock."  
    He leaned back into his cubicle while the boys around him snickered maliciously, and Cosmos stared around her, feeling her heart rate picking up as she walked towards her desk. Everyone was looking at her, whispering behind their hands, and she got the sense that she was walking into certain ruin the closer she got to her desk. As she got closer, she could see a neat little white envelope sitting propped up against her monitor; her name written across the front in clean lettering she didn't recognize.   
    She put her bag down on her chair and picked up the envelope, feeling all eyes on her as she flipped it over, lifted the flap, and slid out a glossy photo. Her stomach dissolved, and her hands began to tremble as she stared down at the picture in her hands, her mind a complete blank, except for the image blaring back up at her.   
    A man, who looked like Sephiroth, bending a woman, who looked like her, over a desk and fucking her from behind; her skirt hiked up on her hips, and her lace panties caught around her high heels with her legs spread obscenely as she laid across the desk.  
    There were no faces visible in the photo. It had been taken as if the photographer had stood behind the couple, but where they could still get a decent shot of the woman. The woman whose breasts were too small, and her hips too narrow and her hair too short to be Cosmos's, but almost the exact same color. And the man who looked like Sephiroth, except his hair was white--not silver--with bits of dirty blond peeking out through the ratty wig, and his skin was ruddy and he wore no gloves...      
    Cosmos couldn't stop staring at the photo, even as her stomach protested the longer she looked at it. Every sick, pornographic detail from the image beginning to burn itself into her mind the longer she looked. The woman's pencil skirt, rumpled and shoved up around her skinny hips, her pink lace thong tangled around her ankles; her bare ass reddened and bearing the clear outline of an open handed palm. The man's gloveless, thick fingers--so unlike Sephiroth's--digging into the woman's pale skin, pulling her back onto him, his hips pushed forward with his pants around his ankles. His hairy legs were thick, stubby, and ruddy. Not Sephiroth's. His ratty white wig was askew as he fucked the woman.  
    Fake. Completely fake, and she knew it. Knew it, and wanted nothing more than to murder whoever had dared to take the picture and put it in front of her. In front of everyone. Trying to frame her; humiliate her...  
    She could feel the rage building, and knew the people around her felt it because it was suddenly very quiet again, and no one was moving or speaking.   
    Slowly, forcing herself to stay as calm as she could manage when all she really wanted to do was turn her desk over, she set the photo down, reached for her desk phone, and put it to her ear as she punched '0' and waited for the operator to connect.  
    It took only a moment.  
    "How may I direct your call?" a dull voice asked on the other end of the line.   
    "Office 906, please," she said quietly.  
    "One moment, please," the bored voice replied.   
    There was a brief pause, and she waited; keeping her gaze focused on the far wall so she wouldn't make eye contact with anyone. She could hear them muttering again, but tuned them out as the operator returned.  
    "General Sephiroth is currently in a meeting, would you like to leave a message?" the voice inquired.  
    "Is he in his office right now?" she asked, feeling anger pulsing in her veins.   
    "Yes, ma'am, but he's in a—" the voice started.  
    "I understand, thank you," she said curtly, and hung up.  
    She picked up the photo, and her bag, and walked back through the office towards the elevator. She didn't look left or right, even as the whispers around her grew louder. She heard a quiet giggle of mirth from her right as she neared the elevator, and glanced sideways to see Delilah ducking her head back behind her computer. Delilah, with her small breasts and narrows hips, and her normally blonde hair dyed almost the exact same golden-brown as Cosmos's, but a few shades lighter, and cut shorter; today done up in springy, girlish curls. Delilah, who always wore pencil skirts, and whose lacy thong almost peeked out from under her skirt whenever she crossed her thin legs or bent over.  
    Cosmos paused in front of the woman's desk, struck by the sudden urge to reach around and slam Delilah's curly haired head into the computer screen.  
    "I'm sure," she said quietly, and Delilah glanced up at her; not quite managing to hide her gleeful smile, "That General Sephiroth will be very flattered to know you decided to act out a porno in his honor."  
    Delilah's smile vanished in a heartbeat, and her mouth fell open slightly as Cosmos idly waved the photograph in front of her.  
    "That's...not me," Delilah said immediately, straightening up and trying to look defiant. All she managed was to look silly. Childish. Like a petulant five year old.   
    "Oh?" Cosmos flipped the photo around, pretending to inspect it closely. "That skinny ass and tiny chest isn't yours? I don't know anyone else in the office that looks like this. And your hair even matches. It's a nice color, really. Who's the lucky guy, though? He looks like he's having fun. I bet you've still got a handprint on your ass given how bad the one in the picture looks. Did you set up a tripod to take the picture or did you have someone else photographing you during sex? Is there a DVD, too? Did you have to call him 'General' to get him off? Or was 'sir' enough?"  
    Delilah mouthed wordlessly as Cosmos leveled an icy stare at her. Her face was bright red now, almost the color of the lipstick she'd applied to her now trembling lips, and her eyes were over bright.   
    "It's...it's not me," she insisted in a feeble voice, and Cosmos could hear her voice shaking, as though she were on the verge of tears.  
    Good. Let her cry.   
    "Don't be shy, Del," Cosmos said lightly, "After you handed out such nice photos, you don't want the proper recognition for your performance? Or did you want to give Jaila credit for her photography skills? She did get an excellent angle."  
    Delilah didn't speak, and instead dropped her head to hide her face, her frail shoulders trembling slightly.   
    "You're not smart, Delilah," Cosmos murmured in a low voice, "You're not clever, or cute, or whatever you thought you were being when you decided to fuck a jackass in a white wig... Get over yourself."  
    "Oh, like you're one to talk," sneered a voice from behind her, and she turned—knowing what she would see.   
    Jaila stood there, hands on hips, glaring at her, her teeth bared in what could have been a smile, but it only managed to look like a snarl. She tossed her red-haired head, snorting in disgust.   
    "You think you're so innocent and admirable?" the woman said coldly. "You're nothing but a cheap whore. Here's the evidence right here. How was it, by the way? Getting fucked like that?"  
    She brandished a copy of the same disgusting photograph at Cosmos.   
    "You're such a fucking slut," spat Jaila, her face twisted with disgust and smug triumph. "Did you get screwed so hard you couldn't walk straight? Huh? You're a fucking whore is what you are, Rielle. The office fuck toy. I bet you enjoy it, too. Spreading your legs the second someone asks. Oh, yeah. You're a model worker alright. If being a whore is work. But I bet it pays the bills, right?"  
    Cosmos said nothing, because all that was in her at that moment was pure, unfiltered, unadulterated rage. She was beyond anger; beyond coherent thought, and beyond caring what anyone in the office thought of her. It wasn't because of the picture or the words that Jaila had thrown in her face. It wasn't the sick twisting in the pit of her stomach as she thought about how every single person she worked with had seen that picture and been made to think it was her. It wasn't even because of the ugly grimace Jaila was giving her now as the woman advanced on her, still waving the photo. It was all of it. Every single thing leading up until today. The rumors, the lies, the whispers, the looks everyone gave her, the way Jaila made them believe it. The way she spread the stories like wildfire, when she really had no fucking idea. _Everything_.   
    All of it boiled up under her skin, leaving her hot all over, until she thought she would explode, and wiping out all other thoughts or feelings, leaving only rage.   
    Cosmos felt her body act without her command, her right hand that held the photo in a tight fist lifting up. She only registered the brief flicker of confusion in Jaila's eyes before it turned to alarm, and then she had backhanded the woman so hard it sent the red head flying into the nearest cubicle. There was a deafening crash, and the walls of the cubicle shuddered and teetered dangerously as Jaila slid down them into a heap on the floor, her nose and mouth bloodied, her eyes wide in shock. There was a collective gasp, and several people screamed. Delilah sat in her chair, her eyes huge, her hands over her mouth, staring at where Jaila lay in a crumpled heap.   
    Cosmos was shaking with rage, and didn't even register that her office had gained an audience until a loud, authoritative voice demanded, "What the hell is going on here?"  
    The office went dead silent, and everyone's head turned to look towards the elevator. Lyra stood at the front of a group, one hand over her mouth, her eyes round with horror as she stared at Cosmos. Behind her stood four men. Commander Zack Fair was closest, wide eyed and staring at Cosmos as well. Behind him, stood three SOLDIER First-Class. Angeal Hewley. Genesis Rhapsodos. And Sephiroth. They were all staring at her, as though they couldn't believe what they'd just seen. Well...Zack, Angeal, and Genesis were staring. Sephiroth merely looked thoughtful.   
    Lyra strode forward, heading straight for Cosmos, who was ready by the time her boss reached out.  
    "Cosmos, what do you—"  
    Cosmos interrupted her by shoving the now crumpled photograph into her chest. Lyra startled, grabbing it clumsily, and looked down at it. Her eyes widened further, and her mouth fell open in horror.   
    "I take it you didn't get one of those on your desk this morning," Cosmos said in a deadly quiet voice.   
    Lyra gaped at the photograph, then up at Cosmos, comprehension dawning on her face as she looked over at Jaila, who was being helped to her feet by two male coworkers. Blood streaked down the redhead's face from her nose, and bubbled at the corner of her mouth as she spat on the ground, her eyes watering.   
    "I didn't take it," Jaila said at once, her voice shaking. "I don't know where it came from. I got one, too."  
    Cosmos didn't realize she'd taken a step towards Jaila until Zack caught her around the shoulders and waist and dragged her back.  
    "Don't," he said sharply.  
    She didn't. She stood rigidly in his grip, not bothering to fight, but not taking her eyes off of Jaila, who looked more than frightened as she stared back. Clearly, she saw something in Cosmos she hadn't expected to, and was petrified by it, because she ducked behind the two men that had helped her up.   
    "Cosmos, calm down," Lyra said, holding out a hand as though to keep a barrier between the two women, but Cosmos could see she was shaken. "We're going to take care of this."  
    "Like hell you are," said Cosmos bitterly, and Lyra looked startled, "You're going to take care of it? After two months of me constantly coming to you, constantly calling you, TELLING you that she was doing this—NOW you're going to take care of it?"  
    Lyra blinked, looking alarmed, and Zack tightened his arms around Cosmos.  
    "Stop," he warned her. "You're angry. Don't do something you'll regret."  
    "I am beyond anger, Commander Fair, and there is nothing in my mind right now that I would regret doing," she said quietly, her voice fairly shaking with rage.   
    She could feel tears in her eyes, and her chest constricted painfully. She wanted to hit something again. She wanted to break something. Throw something. She wanted to beat Jaila into a bloody mess on the floor, smash her head into a boulder again and again. She wanted to make her hurt. And, no, she wouldn't regret any of it, not even if all that was left was the other woman's cold, dead body.   
    "Cosmos, please," he murmured, trying to draw her back, away from Jaila. "Calm down."  
    "Calm, Commander?" she asked shakily, tears beginning to slide down her face. "Take a look at that photo and THEN tell me to be calm."  
    Zack hesitated, glancing sideways at Lyra, who looked down at the photo, then reluctantly held it out to him.  
    He held out a hand for it, making sure to keep one arm loosely coiled around Cosmos's waist; probably to prevent her from getting at Jaila again. Cosmos felt more than heard his sharp intake of breath as he looked at the photo.  
    "Now tell me to be 'calm', Commander," she dared him without turning around, tears making her vision blurry as she continued to stare murderously towards Jaila.   
    He didn't. Instead, he slowly took his arm back from around her waist, leaving her to stand on her own, and turned away, towards the other SOLDIER. Angeal was the first to receive the photo after Zack, and his eyes grew very wide as he looked down at it. Genesis leaned in to look as well, and sucked in a breath.   
    They all looked uncertainly at Sephiroth, who merely raised an eyebrow and extended a hand—palm up—for the photo. Angeal slowly passed it over, and Sephiroth took it, his green-blue eyes sliding down to inspect the image. Everyone stilled.   
    Jaila had a hand over her broken nose, but there was fear in her eyes, and Delilah had shrunk down in her chair, positively white in the face and trembling all over. Cosmos didn't move, or speak. Just waited.   
    Sephiroth didn't give any indication the image was anything more than a printed picture on card stock. His expression didn't change, or falter, and he didn't even tense. He merely looked it over for a long moment, his gaze intent, then slowly lifted his head to look straight at Delilah, who gave an almost inaudible squeak of terror.  
    "I will only ask you once, Miss Traven," he said softly, and though his voice was low it carried throughout the entire office, "So answer accordingly. I will know if you lie."   
    He turned the photo towards her so she could see it, as though she weren't already familiar with it.  
    "Is this you?" he asked very quietly.  
    Delilah stared at the photo, then at him, tears gathering in her large brown eyes as she trembled from head to toe, and nodded once.   
    "And who took this photo, Miss Traven?" he inquired.  
    Delilah opened her mouth to answer, but seemed unable to speak, and after a few moments of helpless mouthing, shot a look towards Jaila, who went chalk white as Sephiroth turned his gaze on her.   
    "Did you take this photo, Miss Lyris?" he asked lightly, now flashing the image at her.   
    There was a moment in which Jaila did not speak, instead working to keep the blood from her broken nose from dripping onto her blouse--though it was already far too late to save—and Sephiroth waited, his eyes unblinking.   
    Jaila's lower lip trembled as she finally lowered her hand, revealing the extent of the damage that Cosmos had caused. Her upper lip sported a deep gash, as did her lower lip, and her nose was distinctly crooked.   
    "Yes, sir," she whispered, and blood dribbled from between her red stained teeth.   
    "And who is your male accomplice in this?" Sephiroth questioned.  
    Jaila, like Delilah, seemed to have lost her ability to speak, and only managed a petrified look towards the blond man who had spoken to Cosmos earlier. He stood rooted to the spot just outside of his cubicle, his eyes popping wide in his ruddy face as Sephiroth turned to face him.  
    "Is this you, in this photo, Mr. Haller?" the General inquired.   
    Haller stood motionless, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly agape, and glanced around frantically as though waiting for someone to step up and save him. When no one did, he turned slowly back to face Sephiroth, swallowed hard, and managed a limp nod.   
    "All three of you," said Sephiroth quietly, "Have thirty minutes to pack up everything in your desks that belongs to you, and remove it from this office. If, after thirty minutes, you are still here, security will be called to escort you from the premises. Anything left behind by you will be taken to the dump and destroyed. Is that clear?"  
    Jaila, Delilah, and the man, Haller, all gaped at the General; their expressions all mixed with horror and disbelief.  
    "But, sir—" Haller began, but Sephiroth held up a hand for silence.   
    "Thirty minutes begins now," the General said softly. "I suggest you get packing."  
    There was a terrified silence, and then Delilah shuffled quietly at her desk, beginning to pull open drawers to remove her items. Tears streaked down her narrow face, but she didn't cry aloud. Haller was the next to take action, darting back into his cubicle and making quite the commotion as he dumped out the contents of his desk into whatever he was planning to pack them in. Jaila was the last to realize that she was, in fact, being fired, and even then continued to stand staring in disbelief at Sephiroth, who met her gaze without pity.   
    "Twenty nine minutes, Miss Lyris," he warned her coolly.  
    She blinked, eyes wide and watering, blood still dripping steadily from her nose and mouth, then turned slowly away and walked towards her desk beside Delilah, sinking down into the seat and beginning to pull open the drawers.   
    As everyone realized what had just happened, they all began to retreat to their own cubicles in silence, keeping their heads down and their eyes averted. Lyra looked around in a kind of stunned confusion, as though she couldn't understand how three of her workers had just lost their jobs.   
    "Sir," she addressed Sephiroth a little hesitantly, "Shouldn't Jaila at least get her nose fixed before—"  
    "She can go to the infirmary after she's finished packing," he said curtly, and Lyra went quiet.   
    "Yes, sir," she murmured after a moment, and turned away.   
    Cosmos stood motionless where Zack had left her, not moving. She was still seething. Even the fact that she'd just lost three people their jobs wasn't enough to make her feel any better, and she continued to stand with tears of anger running down her face, her shoulders shaking.  
    "Miss Rielle."  
    She didn't even turn at the sound of Sephiroth's voice.   
    It wasn't until she felt a firm weight settle on her shoulder that she even bothered to look around. He stood next to her now, towering over her, his gaze unreadable as he looked down at her tear streaked face.   
    "My office," he instructed softly, "Now."  
    Fear tinged the anger now, and she felt as though she were being pulled from a trance as the weight of his words settled more solidly in her mind. She blinked, momentarily confused as the anger retreated enough for her to begin to think clearly again, and then started to shake her head side to side, realizing what was happening, but it was too late. With one hand firmly settled on her shoulder, he was already steering her towards the elevator.   
    She wanted to resist, kick at him, throw him off and run, but she was still dazed, and something in the back of her mind wouldn't process what was happening with what needed to be done to prevent it. She could only walk numbly alongside Sephiroth, who paused only to give instructions to Zack and the others.   
    "Find every single copy of that photo and destroy them," he murmured, and they nodded in unison.  
    "We've got it covered," Angeal assured him before turning away to address the office workers.  
    Zack glanced at Cosmos as she passed him, and she briefly met his gaze. His expression was sad, worried, and uncertain. She wondered what he was thinking about... Had he known when he’d come to retrieve that first time, to tell her she was wanted in Sephiroth’s office, just what would happen as a result? He probably didn’t even remember it. If anything, he—like Genesis and Angeal—probably thought she and Sephiroth had had _something_ going on behind closed doors, and had just had the decency not to ask questions. Whatever he had thought, though, if he’d thought anything at all, didn’t matter anymore…  
    Sephiroth swept her onto the elevator before she could fully comprehend what was happening, and by the time she had he had pressed the button to the 9th floor, and the doors had slid shut. She was immediately jerked from her previously anger driven stupor back into reality as she suddenly became aware of him. In guiding her to the elevator, he'd stayed close, with his hand gripping her shoulder. Even now, with the near empty elevator completely open to move around in, he stayed right beside her, even though his hand had slipped away from her shoulder. She felt his fingertips trail an invisible line down the length of her arm, and jerked her hand away when she felt his hand touch hers. She shrank into the side of the elevator, keeping her face averted from his.   
    She felt vulnerable now, the total opposite of how she'd felt just moments ago. The anger was almost completely gone now, and she couldn't use it to protect herself the way she had with Jaila and the others. She and Sephiroth were alone...and once they reached his office they would be completely isolated.   
    She wrapped her arms around herself at the thought, her throat starting to close as her mouth went dry. The spot on her collarbone where his mark still resided gave a dull throb in remembrance of the other time they'd been so alone... Pain...pain and fear.   
    Her tears of anger had gone away, but her eyes still watered as she tried to focus on anything except him. She didn't want to think about him, or see him. She didn't want to go to his office. She wanted to leave and go home...and she had only gotten to work twenty minutes ago. The day hadn't even started, and she already wanted it to be over...  
    The elevator dinged as it reached the ninth floor, and the smooth female voice announced their destination as the doors slid open to allow them out into the quiet hallway of SOLDIER offices. Sephiroth went first, and she followed reluctantly, almost wishing she could just take off down the stairs and know he wouldn't try to bring her back again. But he would.  
    He led her to his office, and paused in front of the door to open it before stepping back to allow her inside first. She hesitated, her heart beginning to drum unsteadily against her ribs as memories she didn't want to think about began to stir in the back of her mind. But the General waited, and she eventually forced her feet to carry her over the threshold into the office. He followed, and closed the door quietly behind them before stepping slowly around her to approach his desk.   
    Just looking at the desk made her think about the photograph he still held in his hand, and her stomach lurched uncomfortably.   
    Sephiroth laid the crumpled photograph face down on his desk, and took his usual seat behind it, interlocking his fingers in front of him as he closed his eyes to think.   
    Cosmos stood where she was, not daring to come closer, and waited.   
    After a few long seconds of quiet, Sephiroth finally opened his eyes again to look at her, a slight frown on his face.   
    "Do you regret what you did to Miss Lyris, Miss Rielle?" he asked softly.  
    She blinked, momentarily startled, then looked down, and shook her head. "No, sir."  
    "Look at me when I'm talking, Miss Rielle," he instructed quietly.  
    She forced herself to do so, though it made her nerves jangle and her heart rate increase just to try. His eyes saw everything... The tear tracks on her face, the way her shoulders shook... She hated it. She didn't want him to see anything...  
    "While I understand the reasoning behind your actions, I can't condone them," he murmured after a pause, "If not for the fact that Miss Lyris's, Miss Traven's, and Mister Haller's prank included me personally, I would leave it up to your immediate supervisor to decide what to do with you. However, given the circumstances, I feel justified in putting you on a week's suspension for violent misconduct."  
    He eyed her for a moment as she continued to stare back at him, numb from his words.   
    "Is that acceptable?" he inquired, lifting a silvery eyebrow.   
    She nodded stiffly. She wasn't even sure she really cared what he decided at this point... A week away from this place would be like paradise as far as she was concerned. He probably didn't even realize he was doing her a favor.   
    "Good," he sighed, lowering his hands and pushing himself up from his chair. "Then, Miss Rielle, I would ask that you return home for the day. Given today's events, there is no valid reason to keep you here. Go home, rest, recuperate. You may return to work on Monday."  
    She nodded again, her eyes on the floor once more. Her hands were shaking horribly, and she clasped them tightly together in an effort to cease the tremors, but it wasn't helping. Tears were gathering again. In spite of the relief of being able to get away from Shinra for a week, the knowledge that it was a punishment at all struck at her. She'd never liked being told she was wrong. Never liked being called out for something she felt totally justified for. Of course, she knew he was right, but that didn't make it any better... Sure, Jaila had gotten fired, as had Delilah and Haller, but it still felt that—in choosing to put her on suspension—he was taking their side over hers.   
    She sniffled quietly, hating that she felt so vulnerable, and wishing she could just leave.   
    She heard a quiet rustle of sound, and glanced up briefly towards Sephiroth. Where a few seconds before he had stood behind his desk, he now stood less than a foot from her, and she hadn't even sensed him moving. She didn't even have time to really be startled before she felt his arm sliding around her waist, drawing her closer, and when she glanced up, heart in her throat, it was to look straight into his cat-like, blue-green eyes as his head descended towards hers.   
    She gasped, a sound that came out more like a squeak than anything else, and shoved away from him, terrified. She turned on her heel, bolting for the door, but felt his hand beginning to circle her wrist, and panicked.  
    She turned back enough to slap away his hand with all the strength she had, and ran for the door, yanking it open and darting through it before he could get his hands on her again. Her heart was pounding as she raced for the elevator, slowed, and then redoubled speed and headed for the stairs. She burst through the door onto the ninth floor landing, and ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time, not caring that she was in heels and could potentially fall and twist her neck if she missed. She just wanted to be away. Away from Sephiroth. From all of this.  
    She raced down four flights of stairs until she arrived at the fifth floor and ran through the door, then came to a dead stop just outside, breathing hard, looking around in a haze of confusion and panic. The office was silent. Jaila, Delilah, and Haller were still packing, their heads bent to their tasks. Angeal, Genesis, and Zack stood side by side, each with a line of workers in front of them, taking photos from each person that approached them and putting them in a shredder they had obviously taken from someone's cubicle.   
    Cosmos hesitated, uncertain what to do, then made a bee-line for her desk, sweeping past the SOLDIERs and the lines of workers and dropping her bag on top of the desk before yanking open drawers to retrieve her personal items.   
    "Cosmos?"  
    She glanced up to see Zack Fair making his way towards her, looking anxious.   
    She looked back down and continued rifling through the drawers, desperate. Her heart was racing and every few seconds she glanced towards the elevator doors, half expecting to see Sephiroth striding through them at any moment.   
    "Hey, whoa, slow down," Zack said as he drew level with her, reaching out to grab gently at one of her arms, halting her from shoving a picture of her and Alstro into her purse. "Are you okay? What's going on? Why are you packing? He didn't fire you did he?"  
    She shook her head wordlessly, pulling her arm free and continuing to work at clearing out her desk.   
    "Then what's going on?" he asked, looking confused.   
    "I'm leaving," she said in a tremulous voice.  
    There was a stunned silence, and then Zack stepped closer, eyes wide. "Why are you leaving? You just said you weren’t fired. What did Sephiroth say?"  
    She didn't answer, instead crouching to dig through the lower drawers.   
    "Cosmos," Zack began firmly, but she grabbed the last item out of the drawers, slammed them all shut, and began to walk around him. "Cosmos!"  
    She darted out of the way as he tried to grab her shoulder, and ran for the elevator. She was almost through the office doors when Lyra appeared, apparently coming from down the hall, and they nearly collided. Cosmos stumbled a little as she redirected her footsteps to dart around her supervisor.  
    "Cosmos?" Lyra called, sounding alarmed.   
    Cosmos didn't wait for the woman to follow her, or say anything in response, and instead started for the elevator again. She jabbed the call button, then looked around to see Lyra hurrying towards her.   
    She turned quickly for the stairs, just as the elevator dinged and the doors started to slide open. A brief glimpse of black leather and silver hair was all she saw before she raced through the door to the stairwell and ran down the steps, tears in her eyes, and her heart in her throat. She didn't stop, not even when she reached the first floor and bolted out, and the guard at the front desk paused with the phone to his ear to call out to her. She ran, out the front doors of Shinra, down another flight of steps, all the way to the train station. Faster even than she'd run that first night...and she didn't stop until she was on the train, and had sunken into a seat as the doors closed. She sat there, breathing hard, glad that the car she was in was empty except for her, and after a long moment she drew her purse to her chest, laid her head down on her arms, and let the tears roll down her cheeks as she sobbed.


	15. Chapter 15

    Zack took the elevator back up to the fifth floor, blowing out a huge sigh as he pushed a hand through his ragged hair. Cosmos hadn't stopped for the guard downstairs, even after Lyra had called and told him to stop her before she could leave. By the time Zack had gotten down there, she was gone, and the train back to town had left the station. Sighing again, pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt the onset of a nasty headache, he waited as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, then stepped out and lifted his head to look around.   
    Lyra was standing there, looking anxious but hopeful, and Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal were also waiting. Lyra stepped forward, eyes wide.   
    "She's gone," said Zack shrugging lamely. "Took the train and left."  
    Lyra groaned and dropped her head into her hands, raking her fingers through her blonde hair.   
    "I don't understand," she said helplessly, "You said she wasn't fired, right?"  
    She looked around at Sephiroth, who nodded, then back at Zack with a frustrated expression.  
    "So she just quit?" she asked.   
    "That's what she said she was doing," Zack sighed, also at a loss.   
    "But why?" Lyra demanded, looking frantic now. "I don't understand! Jaila and the others are leaving, so why did she feel the need to quit?"  
    "Maybe it didn't matter that they were leaving," suggested Angeal quietly, looking thoughtfully at the ground. "Maybe the damage was already done. Would you really want to work here after someone tried to spread around a photo like that and make it look like you did that? Even if they knew it wasn't really her, and she knew it wasn't her, it probably still really upset her."  
    "But enough to quit?" hedged Lyra, looking uncertain.  
    "Didn't she say she'd been dealing with this for a few months?" Genesis inquired, frowning at Lyra. "Or that she'd brought this up to you for the past couple of months?"  
    Lyra hesitated, looking uneasy. "Yeah...she...she's been having problems with Jaila for a while, now. I just never thought they'd get this bad."  
    "Well, they did," said Angeal with a sigh, "Chances are this was the last straw, and I can't say I blame her. That was a really terrible thing to have happen."  
    He glanced at Sephiroth, who hadn't spoken at all since arriving on the fifth floor in time to see Cosmos vanishing down the stairwell.   
    The General seemed fixated on something inside the office as he leaned against the wall, his arms folded over his chest; staring intently into the room of cubicles and desks.   
    "Sephiroth, you okay?" Angeal prompted his friend.   
    Sephiroth didn't look away from the office, but nodded mutely.   
    "That picture was really unbelievable, though," Genesis went on, "I can't believe they thought they'd get away with something that ballsy. I mean, honestly. Even if no one on this floor let it slip, someone on the other floors was bound to end up hearing about it from someone here. Did they really think it wouldn't end up on our radar?"  
    "They probably thought they could spread the rumor far enough and fast enough that by the time we DID realize it, the entire company would be convinced that that girl was having an affair with Sephiroth," Zack guessed, "Though, to be honest, I don't see how anyone could believe that picture. At least not that the guy was Sephiroth."  
    "The girl in the photo totally wouldn't have passed for the other one," Genesis denied firmly, "She was way too skinny. Didn't you notice? The other girl had some definite curves to her. That Traven woman is just skin and bones."  
    "Let's not talk about it, Genesis," Angeal said in a warning undertone, narrowing his eyes at his colleague.   
    Genesis shrugged, but let the subject drop. No one else said anything more.   
    Lyra frowned at the floor, thinking. Something had felt off with Cosmos... It wasn't just the photo or what Jaila or the other workers had done. Something else had happened; she could feel it. She thought back, trying to think of what it could have been, then remembered the post-it note stuck to her desk...the note she’d found just after Cosmos had gone upstairs with Sephiroth.

    _Need to talk to you…Please call ASAP._ _  
_     Cosmos... Now that Lyra thought on it, she _had_ been about to say something yesterday, hadn’t she? Her brows furrowed as she tried to call the memory back. Cosmos had looked terribly uncomfortable yesterday, too, fidgeting as she’d tried to tell Lyra…what? Had Cosmos known Jaila was going to do this? No, that made no sense, she thought, frowning even more deeply. Cosmos wouldn’t have been anywhere near so out of control if she’d already known what Jaila had had in store for her today, and she would have said something yesterday while they’d spoken about Jaila’s behavior. So…what was it Cosmos had wanted to tell her?

    What else had they been talking about yesterday? Jaila…Jaila’s attitude…Jaila’s behavioral problems…Cosmos’s absence…her illness… Lyra inserted her thumbnail into her mouth and began chewing on it anxiously. _What else_? That had been it, hadn’t it?

    No, they’d talked about Sephiroth, too. Sephiroth had been on the phone with Lyra right before Cosmos had come in, that was true. He’d been asking about Cosmos’s absence and when she’d be back. Truth be told, Lyra had thought it a little odd that Sephiroth had been so interested in Cosmos’s temporary leave from work, since he didn’t normally call her for anything at all, let alone one of her direct employees… Lyra paused, midway to ripping her thumbnail off between her teeth, eyes widening slightly.

    Yesterday, she would have thought nothing of it, but…Cosmos had been spending an awful lot of time in Sephiroth’s office, hadn’t she? She got called up there at least once a day for several hours at a time, doing…whatever it was she did up there. Lyra couldn’t honestly say she actually knew what Cosmos was responsible for or what she did exactly when Cosmos got called up to the General’s private office…

    Lyra sucked in a breath, a sudden uncomfortable twisting taking place in the pit of her stomach. She had no proof, no logical reason to think it, but…what if Jaila hadn’t been that far from the truth with the photo and the rumors she’d been spreading?   
    Angeal sighed, and headed towards the elevator. "Well, I'm getting back to work. Genesis, Zack, you coming? We have those new cadets to train this afternoon."  
    "True," sighed Genesis, looking thoroughly unenthused even as he and Zack turned to follow the dark haired SOLDIER onto the elevator.   
    Angeal put an arm in the door to keep it open, looking expectantly at Sephiroth, who was still looking intently into the office.   
    "Sephiroth, you coming?" Angeal asked.   
    "I'll catch up," the General said quietly.  
    Angeal shrugged, nodded towards Lyra, and stepped back into the lift, allowing the doors to close.   
    There was a long pause, and Lyra found himself watching Sephiroth out of the corner of his eye. She wanted to say something...ask the question burning in the back of her mind... But something stopped her. Maybe it was fear of the kind of reaction she’d get if she pushed the General right now. Though he wasn’t openly seething, she got the feeling that behind that calm face and those glacial eyes, there was something on the verge of erupting, and she didn’t want to be the one to set it off. But she couldn’t _not_ say something… Maybe if she phrased it gently…  
    "Sir," she said after a moment, and the General gave a small 'hm' to show he was listening, "...Cosmos...well, you know, she was in my office yesterday morning. Before I sent her up to you she, uh, said she had something to talk to me about. We never actually got talk about it, but, uh… She seemed…anxious…about something… More so than usual…and not about Jaila. At least, I don’t think… I don't suppose you'd know anything about it, would you?"  
    Sephiroth hadn't moved or scarcely blinked since coming to stand outside of the office, and he didn't move or blink now as she questioned him. If Lyra didn't know better, she would have thought her question hadn't made any impression on the man at all, but she thought she had seen a flicker in his eyes, and frowned.  
    "Do you?" she prompted, a little breathlessly.  
    Sephiroth didn't answer, but finally moved his gaze from inside the office to fixate on the ground under his feet instead.   
    She waited, fidgeting anxiously with her torn fingernail, for his answer. If he had one to give at all.   
    Sephiroth still didn't speak, or move, and continued to gaze blankly at the floor, his expression totally void.   
    After a few more long minutes of absolute silence, he finally murmured, "I don't know."  
    Lyra stared at him. "Oh," she said, slightly disappointed. "I thought…maybe she might have said something to you…since she’s spent more time in your office lately…"   
    Sephiroth remained silent, and Lyra felt that uncomfortable writhing in the pit of her stomach resume.  
    “Well,” she said uncomfortably, shifting nervously from one foot to the other, “I, uh…I think I’ll go give Cosmos a call. See if I can’t convince her to come back to work... I’m sure she’s just very upset and needs some…some time to think things over…”

    Sephiroth still didn’t respond, and she finally turned away to head back to her office when he spoke abruptly from behind her, "Wait."  
    She paused, turning his head to look back at the silver haired man.   
    "You stay here," Sephiroth instructed, pushing away from the wall and turning towards the elevators.  
    "Sir?" she asked uncertainly.  
    "Those three still have fifteen minutes to get packed up and moved out before I call security on them, and I need someone to make sure they're gone when they should be," Sephiroth said, stepping forward to press the elevator call button.   
    "And…what are you going to do?" Lyra asked, not entirely sure she should be asking.  
    "I need to make a phone call," Sephiroth answered as the lift dinged and the doors slid open, allowing him entrance. He stepped inside, turned to press the ninth floor button, and leaned back against the wall of the elevator as the doors began to close.

    The lift snapped shut, and the illuminated numbers over the top of the door began to glow in ascending order as the elevator rose. Lyra watched the numbers until 9 lit up and stayed lit, then sighed and turned back to look into the office where Jaila and Haller were still packing, and Delilah was just finishing up.   
    In spite of what the three of them had done, she felt a little sorry for them. Getting kicked out of Shinra was one of the biggest insults in the job industry, and she knew they were going to have a rough time finding jobs anywhere near as good or well-paying, especially if their potential employers got wind of why they'd been fired in the first place. From where she stood in the doorways, she could see Delilah was still in tears as the woman loaded up the last of her items into an old filing box she'd found and slid it off of her desk. Lyra felt the worst for her.   
    Delilah not only had taken part in the prank, she'd opened herself up to a kind of vulnerability she couldn't possibly have imagined. She'd probably thought no one would realize the picture was of her...not if Jaila had managed to convince everyone in the office that it was actually Cosmos, but now everyone DID know. They'd seen the most vulnerable side of her, and Lyra felt a little guilty. On the other hand, she really wanted to take Haller outside and beat him into the ground for what he'd done, both to Cosmos and to Delilah, but she'd settle for getting the man kicked out of Shinra. And Jaila...she wasn't sure how to feel about Jaila... Maybe it was because the General had added insult to injury by forcing her to pack her things BEFORE she got her nose taken care of, and it had to be painful and uncomfortable getting herself moved out with blood dripping from a broken nose.   
    Still...Lyra couldn’t feel too sorry for Jaila. You reaped what you sowed, and Jaila had been in over her head.  
    She was still kind of shocked that Cosmos had done so much damage to the other woman... She would never have taken Cosmos for a violent girl, and especially not one who could really pack a punch, but she had definitely let Jaila have it... Lyra wouldn't be surprised if Jaila needed plastic surgery to get her nose back the way it had been.   
    Delilah was coming towards her, head bowed, and Lyra couldn’t force herself to meet the woman’s gaze as she passed, instead dropping her eyes to the floor as the slight woman passed her on her way to the elevator. She stayed that way, staring at the floor, until the doors had closed behind Delilah, and then returned to looking somberly into the office. Haller was scrambling to pack his things up, his dirty blond hair sticking up haphazardly from stress as he ducked in and out of sight dumping things into a box and wrenching open drawers. Jaila had found some tissues and shoved scraps of it up her nostrils to stem the worst of the bloodflow, but the damage was already done and even from this distance Lyra could see several specks of blood that had dropped onto the desk as Jaila worked to gather her things.

    Lyra lost her train of thought for a while as her thoughts wandered back to Cosmos, and to Sephiroth. She couldn’t shake the feeling that, in spite of not telling her anything, the General knew something… Though what he could possibly know when Lyra herself wasn’t even sure what Cosmos had wanted to talk to her about was beyond her. But maybe that was just the benefit of being the top strategic mastermind at Shinra…

    She rubbed her temples vigorously, sensing a migraine coming, and decided she’d be better off clearing the issue from her mind until she could talk to Cosmos directly.


	16. Chapter 16

    Alstro jerked upright from her position on the couch as she heard the front door slam open and then shut again in the same second. Startled, she craned around to see Cosmos coming through the door, her head down but with obvious tears dripping off of her face.   
    "Cos!" Alstro was off of the couch in an instant, practically vaulting over the back of it to get to her friend before she could reach the stairs. Gently, she caught her friend's upper arm, pulling her to a halt. "Hey, what happened? Cosmos, talk to me. Was it--?"  
    "It wasn't Sephiroth and I don't want to talk about it," Cosmos whispered in a choked voice, startling Alstro by yanking her arm away and darting up the stairs.   
    "Cosmos!"   
    But Cosmos ran up the rest of the stairs and vanished from sight. A second later, Alstro heard the bedroom door slam shut. Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. She felt suddenly nauseous, and she began to chew anxiously on her lower lip as she stood there thinking fast. Hurriedly, she darted into the kitchen and grabbed the phone. She hesitated, thinking, when abruptly the phone lit up and started to ring. She stared down at it, frowned when she didn't recognize the caller ID, but answered anyway.   
    "Hello?"  
    "Cosmos?" came an anxious female voice Alstro vaguely recognized.   
    "No," she said, frowning, "Cosmos is...um..."  
    She had no idea what Cosmos was...  
    "Is this Cosmos's friend from the other night?" the female voice asked. "I'm her supervisor Lyra. I called her house over the weekend."  
    "Oh, Lyra!" said Alstro in realization. "Yeah, I'm Cosmos's friend Alstro."  
    "Is Cosmos there?" Lyra asked uncertainly.   
    "Yeah," said Alstro, nodding as she glanced anxiously towards the stairs again. "But, I don't think she's in the mood to answer the phone. She just got home and she's in tears. She won't talk to me."  
    The admission of that made Alstro even more uneasy. Cosmos ALWAYS talked to her. About everything...  
    "Something happened at work, didn't it?" she asked quietly.   
    Lyra heaved a sigh. "Yes, it's...hard to explain fully. She's been having problems with a coworker of hers--"  
    "Jaila," guessed Alstro.   
    "Yes," confirmed Lyra wearily, "And today...well...Jaila apparently set up something with some other workers and they...took a photo of what was supposed to look like Cosmos and another man who works here…in a compromising situation."  
    Alstro's stomach dissolved. "Are you fucking kidding me?" she asked quietly, not even caring how rude she sounded.   
    "I wish I was," murmured Lyra quietly. "We fired the three workers involved with the prank, but Cosmos ran out after saying she was quitting, even though one of our higher-ups was only requiring her to take a week off for violent misconduct."  
    "'Violent misconduct'?" repeated Alstro in confusion.   
    "She punched Jaila," Lyra explained.   
    "Good," said Alstro coldly. "No less than was deserved, and I don't blame Cosmos for quitting either. She's had to put up with way too much shit from that company."  
    "I know, I know," said Lyra desperately.   
    "No, actually, you DON'T know," Alstro told the woman bitterly. "That's the whole fucking problem. You DON'T know. And you know what? Don't call here again. I don't want ANYONE from Shinra getting in touch with Cosmos anymore. Tell the higher-ups or whoever the fuck needs to know, because after all the shit she's had to go through because of you guys, the least you can do is leave her the fuck alone."  
    She didn't even give Lyra a chance to answer before she hung up and slammed the phone back onto the receiver, shaking with rage. Angry tears welled in her eyes, and she had to take several deep breaths just to keep herself from doing something stupid like punching the wall. She ground her teeth together, taking another slow, deep breath as a couple tears slipped down her face and her hands shook as she balled them into fists.  
    She couldn't fucking believe this... She knew she had been all for Cosmos leaving Shinra, ASAP, but she hadn't expected it would happen because of something like this...   
    She lifted her hands to jam them against her closed eyelids, watching white spots wink and dance behind them, and muttered curses under her breath. It would have been Jaila...  
    In a way, Alstro was just a little bit relieved, though she knew she shouldn't be. But at least it had been Jaila that had finally driven Cosmos away instead of someone more dangerous... At the same time, though, was it really better? Cosmos had been emotionally scarred by this, Alstro could see she had been. Was this any better than any kind of attack Sephiroth could have initiated? Alstro had her doubts...  
    Sighing, she dropped her hands from her eyes and turned her gaze towards the staircase again. Cosmos was still locked up in her room, undoubtedly, and Alstro had no idea how to get her to come out...short of breaking down the door and dragging her out anyway... She wanted to talk to her, to figure out what had really happened. How far had Jaila actually gone? How had she even gotten a picture that would make it look like Cosmos was doing something like that? And who had been the guy in the photo?  
    The questions circulated endlessly around her mind as she started to pace back and forth across the living room, massaging her forehead as she thought. A couple of times, she thought about picking up the phone and calling someone, like Nero or Marcello, but she got the feeling Nero was still busy at work, and chances were that even if he wasn’t he wouldn’t have any idea what to do about the situation... And if she called Marcello, what the hell could she even say?   
    As Alstro made her twentieth about face in the kitchen, however, it seemed her decision to call someone was taken out of her hands as the phone suddenly lit up and began to ring loudly, making her jump. She turned to look at the illuminated screen, wondering briefly if it was Lyra trying to call back again, or some other ass from Shinra, but she didn't recognize the number as belonging to anyone she knew from Shinra, and, frowning, she picked up the phone to answer.   
    "Hello?"   
    "Alstro?" Marcello’s voice sounded slightly concerned as he spoke.   
    "Marcello, hi," said Alstro, startled. "What's up?"  
    "I was actually going to ask you that," murmured Marcello uncertainly. "I just saw Cosmos a little bit ago. She came tearing past my stand and it looked like she was really torn up about something. I tried to get her attention but I don’t think she noticed. Is she okay?"  
    "Uh…" Alstro fidgeted uneasily, looking frantically around her as though hoping for some miracle answer to spring up before her. When it didn’t, she swallowed hard and said, speaking slowly as she tried to choose her words, “It’s…difficult to explain. Um…for the past couple of months, Cos has been having…issues…at work. Some of her coworkers have been giving her shit. And…well, today they took it overboard, and she ran out…”  
    "…What do you mean?” Marcello asked, his tone equal parts stern and anxious.  

    Alstro started pacing again, pulling agitatedly at tangles in her hair as she went. She opened her mouth to explain further, and before she knew it, the words came flooding out in a rush of fury and desperation.

    “This one woman has been absolutely horrible to her, spreading all these crap rumors about her sleeping with a guy in the office, and the other stupid coworkers believe it, and Cosmos reported her to their higher up, and that pissed this woman off even more and today she somehow managed to fake a photo of Cosmos and this other dude in the office to make it look like they were having sex right in the office or some shit.”

    There were tears in her eyes before she could stop them, and she wiped furiously at them with the back of her hand, fighting a sob as Marcello stayed silent on the other end of the line. No doubt stunned by her words.

    “And she ran out after that?” he said after a moment, and Alstro got the sense he couldn’t think of anything else to say. What _did_ you say to something like that anyway?

    “Yeah,” she said, fighting back more sobs as she paced even faster.

    “And she told you all of that?”  
    "No, her supervisor called me before you did and told me," sighed Alstro, jamming a hand against the side of her head as she felt the onset of a headache beginning. "Cosmos came home and just locked herself in her room. She hasn't come out yet, and she didn't want to talk to me to begin with... I'm really worried, Marcello. She's never been like this."  
    "She's probably never had something like this happen," pointed out Marcello, his voice grim.   
    "True," agreed Alstro softly, dropping her hand and leaning a hip against the counter. "I just have no freaking idea what to do..."

    “What did her superior say about this whole mess?” he asked.

    “Not a lot more other than the fact that it had happened and the coworker responsible was fired,” Alstro said, slouching into the kitchen and leaning heavily against the counter. “I didn’t let her get further than that. I was so angry I just told her not to call again and hung up. I want to talk to Cosmos about it, but…”

    “If she’s not talking right now, best not to force it,” Marcello advised, though he still sounded tense, and Alstro knew he was as concerned for Cosmos as she was.

    “Yeah…” she mumbled, closing her eyes tightly to fight back both tears and the slowly building headache.  
    Everything was so screwed up and backwards… She wanted to go upstairs and talk Cosmos into coming out and explaining everything, but she also wanted to lay down and have a good cry herself, and she wanted to call Nero and Raz and get their advice, but, again, what the hell could they tell her? They didn’t know the situation any better than she did. Some wild, emotionally desperate part of her suggested she call Lyra back and demand a full recount of what had happened, but the thought also ignited fresh fury in her, and she had to clench her fist tightly on the phone to keep it from shaking.   
    "I'm on my way over," Marcello told her then, and she startled. "I don’t think it’s good for Cosmos to be alone, and it sounds like even if she won't talk to anyone you could use a friend right now."  
    "I could," agreed Alstro with a tired sigh, pushing a hand through her hair, rumpling it. "Thanks, Marcello... I just have no idea what to do..." She hated the absolute desperation in her voice as she admitted it, but there it was.  
    "We'll figure it out," Marcello assured her. "We will. Maybe by the time I get there Cosmos will have calmed down enough to come out and talk to us."  
    Alstro nodded wordlessly, glancing in the direction of the stairs and frowning. "Yeah...maybe," she mumbled.  
    "I'll be there in a bit," Marcello said.  
    "Okay. See you then."  
    They hung up, and Alstro gently set the phone back on the dock, sighing heavily.   
    "This is so messed up," she muttered, leaning back against the counter and jamming the heels of her hands into her eyes again, trying to fight the pounding headache that was coming over her.   
**********  
    Upstairs, locked in her room, Cosmos laid on her bed, hugging a pillow to her; her face buried in the damp fabric. She'd long since run out of tears, but occasionally her shoulders still shook as she took an unsteady breath. Her mind had gone into a semi-autopilot mode, and she couldn't really form clear thoughts. All that kept coming to the forefront of her mind was the photo, Jaila's smug sneer, the stares of all of the other office workers, her blinding rage, and...Sephiroth... She tensed as the faded bruise on her collarbone gave a slight prickle, and her wrist where he had grabbed her earlier warmed strangely, as though his fingers were closing around her again. She yanked her arm under the pillow, trying to dispel the feeling, and gave a quiet hiccup.  
    Wasn't it enough, she thought numbly, that she had been publicly humiliated? Hadn't that been enough? Had he really needed to add more insult? Had he been so focused on what he wanted that it didn't matter that she had just experienced the worst moment of her life? Or maybe the photo had turned him on that much that he'd just needed to act right then, while it was fresh in his mind...  
    She sniffled, hugging the pillow tighter, burying her face deeper into the slightly salty smelling cover.   
    She was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't register at first that her phone was ringing, and continued to lay curled up on the cushions, hiccupping and shaking slightly.   
    It wasn't until the third or fourth ring that the sound finally invaded the little bubble of misery she'd put herself in, and she pushed herself up slightly, frowning, her eyes red rimmed as she peered around for the device. She caught a faint flickering in the depths of her purse where she'd dropped it on the end of the bed, and shifted over to dig inside it, sniffling quietly as she extracted the blinking, ringing device. She didn't even bother reading the caller ID, not that she was sure she could have with her eyes still slightly blurry from tears, and flipped it open, putting the little device to her ear as she laid her head back down on the pillows.  
    "Hello?" she asked tiredly, closing her eyes.  
    "Miss Rielle."  
    She went rigid on the bed, her eyes snapping back open to stare down into the fabric of the pillow she held as Sephiroth's voice spoke quietly in her ear. A shiver crept the length of her spine, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. This could not be happening, she thought numbly, staring blankly down at the pillow in front of her. It couldn't...  
    "I was told you had quit," the General said softly, and her momentarily dumbstruck brain struggled to kick itself back into gear.  
    "Yes," she managed to say after a few moments of silence, wishing for all the world she had the discipline to snap the phone shut and hurl it away from her. Already, she could feel her hands starting to shake slightly.   
    "I was hoping you might reconsider," he murmured. "I understand today was not the best, but you may feel more inclined to return to work after taking the week off."  
    Cosmos bit down on her lower lip, feeling a sudden surge of anger bubbling up under her misery and her anxiety, and she gripped the phone a little tighter, working up the guts to say the words that were surfacing in her mind. He wasn't in charge of her anymore, she reminded herself firmly. He had no control over her anymore... He couldn't make her do anything she didn't want to... He had no control...  
    "I don't think so, sir," she murmured, closing her eyes. "I don't have any intention of ever returning to Shinra."  
    There was a pause, and she felt her stomach contract automatically in fear of his response, but she steeled herself, reminding herself: _He doesn't control you anymore. He can't make you do anything..._  
    "Perhaps you would care to discuss it," Sephiroth suggested. "If you would be willing, I'd be glad to set up a meeting for us to--"  
    "No, thank you," she interrupted him curtly. She wasn't about to let him intimidate her again. "I've already decided. I'm not coming back to Shinra. If I need to submit a two weeks' notice or anything else, I'll e-mail it to Lyra and she can put it through, but I have no interest in ever coming back to--"  
    "I want to see you..."  
    She stopped abruptly, startled by the quiet murmur. Her eyes opened again, and her stomach and heart both gave uncomfortable jolts.   
    On the other end of the line, Sephiroth was quiet, but she knew he was waiting; waiting to see what she would say. She couldn't say anything. Her mind was blank again.   
    He wanted to see her... He wanted to see her? Had he really just said that? Why?   
    As if she couldn't guess, she thought bitterly, closing her eyes, feeling a tear slide down her cheek. This hadn't just been about convincing her to come back to work... This was about convincing her to come back to HIM. Just another way to get her where he wanted her... To play with her.   
    As if she hadn't been played with and fucked over enough already...  
    She felt her chest constrict painfully as tears gathered in her eyes, and she felt anger resurfacing, starting to wash out the exhaustion and misery. Her hands shook with even more force, and she bit down hard on her tongue to keep the rising sobs down.  
    There was another long moment of silence as she struggled with herself, and then she heard a quiet intake of breath from the receiver.  
    "Cosm--"  
    She yanked the phone away from her ear and hurled it with all her might at the wall. It slammed into the blue paint with a startling bang, leaving a skid mark. The battery popped out of the back as the casing broke, then fell to the floor; the screen cracked and dead.   
    She buried her face in the pillow and sobbed, tears running down her face to dampen the rough cotton. Anger made her shake, pain made her cry, and she wished she could throw something else. Break something.   
    "Leave me alone," she whispered into the pillow. "Leave me alone, leave me ALONE!"  
    Jaila...Delilah...Shinra...Sephiroth...All of them...  
    "Just leave me alone," she whispered.


	17. Chapter 17

    Alstro's head jerked up abruptly, her ears perking, as she heard a muffled bang from somewhere upstairs, and her stomach lurched. Turning away from the TV, which she had turned on to distract herself until Marcello arrived, she slipped off the couch and jogged to the bottom of the stairs.  
    "Cosmos?" she called anxiously, staring up the staircase towards the closed bedroom door.   
    No answer.  
    She chewed nervously on her lower lip, warring with herself. Half of her demanded she go upstairs and check on Cosmos, while the other hesitated and wondered if Cosmos even wanted to be bothered. Truth be told, she had never seen Cosmos in a state like this before, and had no real idea of the kind of emotional or mental place Cosmos was in at the moment. She had never believed Cosmos would be a danger to herself, but honestly she wasn't so sure at the moment...  
    "Cos?" she called again, a little louder this time, and began to walk slowly up the stairs.   
    Still, no one answered, and she felt her heart begin to beat a little faster as the silence weighed down on her. She didn't like it... She didn't like it all...  
    She was halfway up the stairs, her chest starting to feel tighter by the second as anxiety set in, when the doorbell rang and she frozen. She half turned, reluctant to answer the door, but she knew it had to be Marcello, and if anyone could help Alstro at the moment, it would be him.   
    "Coming!" she called, turning and jogging hurriedly back down the stairs to the door, hastily unlocking it and yanking it open.   
    Marcello stood on the doorstep, looking calm except for the worried look in his dark eyes as he stepped over the threshold.   
    "Where is she?" he asked softly as Alstro shut the door behind him.   
    "Upstairs in her room," Alstro said, jerking a thumb towards the stairs. "I just heard a bang or something and was going to check it out. She won't answer when I yell."  
    Marcello nodded, his frown deepening beneath his thick beard, and his eyebrows knitted together in worry. Alstro turned and lead the way back to the staircase, her heartrate speeding up again as she set her feet on the first step, but it wasn't as horrible as it had been now that she had Marcello standing behind her. It was strange...in kind of the same way that having Cosmos around seemed to calm her, Marcello had a similar influence... Maybe it was how they always seemed so confident and careful, even when things were stressful... Or at least that's how Cosmos had been before this...  
    "Cosmos?" she called as they reached the top of the stairs, and she turned down the hall towards Cosmos’s closed door.   
    Marcello followed quietly, his eyes narrowed with concern as he watched Alstro pause outside the door and knock lightly.   
    "Cos, honey?" Alstro called gently, leaning her head towards the door to listen. "Marcello’s here... Could we please come in?"  
    She jiggled the knob as she asked, and was surprised to find it unlocked. She cracked the door open slightly and peered inside.   
    All the lights were off, but there was enough sunlight filtering in through the blinds that she could make out a huddled figure on the bed, shivering under the blankets. She let out a slight breath, her worst fears trickling away to be replaced with a slightly less frantic sense of fear.   
    "Cosmos?" she said again, her voice soft and low as she stepped into the room, pushing the door open further.   
    Marcello hung back, lingering in the doorway without speaking, but his eyes scanned over the entire room as he waited, pausing on Cosmos's huddled form before moving on to inspect everything else. His sharp gaze found the skid mark on the wall, and the shattered phone case on the floor. He glanced at Cosmos again, and Alstro who was slowly approaching the bed, then moved to inspect the damaged phone.  
    He knelt down carefully and reached out to turn the device over, examining its cracked screen. The battery had popped out, so he carefully picked it up and inserted it back into the phone. It stayed dark for a few moments, then the screen flickered to life, though it was a little warped from the impact of having been thrown. At least he assumed it had been thrown. He didn't know what else could have warranted the bang Alstro had heard, or the mark left on the wall.  
    He glanced over at Cosmos again, watching for a moment as Alstro gingerly pulled the blankets back to reveal a small amount of the girl's face, and feeling a slight wrenching in his chest as he glimpsed tears as Cosmos turned to bury her face in the pillows. He looked down at the phone again as it beeped slightly, and frowned as a slightly distorted alert appeared on the screen. He squinted, trying to make out the letters that were disfigured by the crack.  
    [3 Missed Calls/1 New Text/1 New Voicemail]  
    Two of the calls were from the same number. The third matched the number that had sent the text and left a voicemail.  
    He pondered over the phone for a moment, then clicked through the menu until he reached the text message. He didn’t recognize the number, though that was hardly surprising. He didn’t know any of Cosmos’ other contacts. The message was brief.  
    [Comos, please call me when you have a moment. Lyra.]  
    He guessed the voicemail more or less said the same thing, so he left it alone, but now he was curious about the first number that had called twice. Frowning, he checked the call registry, noting the time of the two calls were mere seconds after each other. The person had obviously tried calling back again immediately after not getting an answer the first time... Then he noticed the entry before the two calls. It had the same number as well, but Cosmos had apparently picked up that time. The timer showed that the call had lasted for barely three minutes.  
    His frown deepened, noting that the call Cosmos had answered had also been taken after she'd gotten home. So, had this been the call that made her throw her phone? And, if it was, who had it been that had called?  
    He glanced over towards the bed again as Alstro shifted slightly. The dark haired female was murmuring gently to Cosmos, rubbing her friend's shoulder and frowning. Cosmos, for her part, didn't seem to be all that invested in talking, and wasn't saying much, but occasionally nodded or shook her head in response. Every few seconds she sniffled or drew in a slightly shaky breath.   
    "Do you want anything to drink?" Alstro asked softly, continuing to smooth her hand over her friend's shoulder, her eyebrows pulled down in a deep line of concern; her brown eyes shimmering with worry possible tears.  
    Cosmos shook her head.  
    "Okay...promise you'll come get me if something changes, okay?" Alstro insisted firmly, and Cosmos nodded.   
    Alstro returned the nod and reluctantly got to her feet, turning to face Marcello as the man got to his feet as well, holding the broken phone. Alstro frowned, seeing what he was carrying, and shot a glance back at Cosmos, seeming about ready to go into another line of questions, but Marcello minutely shook his head and Alstro relented. He jerked his head towards the door, indicating they should leave, and after a brief hesitation and a final worried glance towards Cosmos, Alstro followed; closing the door quietly behind them and leading the way back down to the living room.  
    "Jeez," she muttered once she'd glimpsed the full extent of the damage done to the phone. "She loved that phone..."  
    "I don't think she much cared for the caller, though," guessed Marcello softly, frowning as he turned the phone around to show the number to Alstro, "Do you recognize it? It's not listed under any name but it's not the first time this number has called her. And they called her twice again after she hung up."  
    Alstro examined the number carefully, feeling as though she should know it, but came up blank and shook her head.   
    "Well, just based on what I can figure," said Marcello with a soft sigh, turning the phone back around to frown at the damaged screen. "I'd guess it was someone from Shinra..."  
    Alstro stiffened. "Shinra?" she asked quietly.  
    Marcello paused, noting her rigid expression. "Yes," he said slowly, frowning, “Didn’t you say her supervisor called a little while ago? It’s not surprising other people there would be trying to get ahold of her after what happened today."

    “Yeah…” said Alstro quietly, but she didn’t really seem to be paying attention to what he’d said. Her expression was distant, and she was staring at the phone with such intensity that he could almost see the little wheels in her brain working madly.  
    Alstro held out her hand for the phone, and he turned it over. She began flicking through Cosmos's contacts, checking all Shinra numbers listed. She had Lyra's, and the woman had already left a text and a voicemail so it hadn’t been her… The only other numbers she had from Shinra were for the security desk, a couple of names she didn’t recognize but assumed were coworkers, and—her stomach gave a pulse of fury—Jaila’s number. But the number that had called Cosmos today was nowhere in her contact list.  
    "That fucking son of a bitch fucking called her," Alstro breathed out, rage making her voice shake and her hands tremble as anger began to push out all fear or concern. "That..."  
    "Calm down, Alstro," murmured Marcello, reaching out to lay a hand on the girl's rigid shoulder. "Getting angry isn't going to help anyone...Especially Cosmos. Who called her? You act like you know…"  
    Alstro hesitated, realizing—too late—that she hadn’t meant to speak aloud. She bit her lower lip, staring down at the cracked phone, wishing like hell she could just go marching into Shinra and slam Sephiroth's face into a glass wall; maybe throw him out of the top story window.

    Wasn't it enough that he had traumatized her at work? Wasn't it enough that his fixation on her had ended up with a bunch of assholes pulling a shitty prank? Apparently not... Apparently he had to have total and complete reign over Cosmos, even after she'd escaped him...

    “Alstro,” Marcello said again, recalling her to the present. “Who called?”  
    "I…" Alstro’s throat closed and she swallowed hard, still gripping the phone tightly in her hand, her eyes narrowed and welling with angry tears. "I don’t know…if I can tell you that..."  
    Marcello’s frown deepened, and his bushy eyebrows slanted over his already narrowed eyes. His beard twitched, and he looked like he was thinking of what to say next. After a long pause, he merely sighed.

    “Because Cosmos might not want me to know?” he guessed softly.

    Alstro nodded.

    “I can’t argue with that,” he said, inclining his head, “But, Alstro”—he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze—“I want to help Cosmos as much as you do. And maybe I have enough distance from this to have some good advice. Not promising that I do, but I want to do what I can. Which, unfortunately, isn’t much if I don’t have all the information. You said Cosmos’s coworkers played some sick joke on her today, right? Was it one of them calling her? Because we can report that, no problem.”

    Alstro shook her head, her shoulders trembling with the effort of keeping herself from bursting into tears. “It’s not them,” she mumbled, struggling to keep her voice level when she really wanted to scream and throw something. “It’s…”

    As she struggled to find the words, she looked helplessly around the room, and her gaze settled on the TV screen. She’d had it on but hadn’t really been watching when Cosmos had burst into the house. Now she was watching, because the news had come on, and they were reporting a piece on Sephiroth. For one wild moment, she thought she was about to hear about the scandal Cosmos had just been in, but the TV anchor merely droned on about one of the General’s latest victories in Wutai, smiling benignly at the camera while a picture of Sephiroth’s face appeared in the upper right hand corner. His cat-like blue-green eyes were no less intense through the plasma of the screen, and she felt sick just looking at the photo. Her mouth went very dry, and her trembling increased.

    Marcello didn’t fail to notice this, and followed her gaze to the TV. He glanced at her again, then at the image of Sephiroth, and seemed to put two and two together.

    “How is he involved?” he asked quietly.

    Alstro started and looked up at him, dark eyes wide.

    He nodded towards the TV, which was now showing the week’s weather forecast. “Sephiroth,” he said when she continued to look confused, “How is he involved?”

    She bit hard on her lower lip again, then sucked in a slow, steadying breath that did nothing to ease the not of tension in her stomach.

    “He…he was the guy…in the photo,” she said, “Or, he was the guy that was being impersonated in the photo… Her…Cosmos’s bitch coworker…when she faked the picture of Cosmos, she made it look like it had been with Sephiroth…”

    “And why would she do that?” Marcello asked, and Alstro knew from his tone that he knew there to be more to this story than she was willing to let on.

    “Because,” she said with some difficulty, realizing with a pang that this must be exactly how Cosmos had felt for the past couple of weeks, struggling to tell someone what was happening, “He’s been…assaulting her…at work…”

    There was a very uncomfortable silence, and Alstro said abruptly before she could stop herself, “I mean, _I_ think it’s assault but Cosmos keeps acting like he’s just…I don’t know…like he’s not _trying_ to hurt her, but what else does it mean when he keeps calling her up to his office and getting her alone and then shit like this happens?”

    The words burst from her in a rush, and she felt anger rising as she said them, realizing she’d been holding them back all this time because she hadn’t wanted to say it in front of Cosmos. She hadn’t wanted to make Cosmos feel worse than she already did about the situation. And as the words flowed, so did her tears. She blinked hard, trying to clear her vision, but they kept coming, and she sucked in a painful, gasping breath.

    “I kept trying to get her to tell someone what he was doing,” she whispered, rubbing furiously at her eyes, “And she kept putting it off and putting it off and…she kept… _defending him_. After all the shit he did, and the bruise he gave her—”

    “What bruise?” Marcello’s voice was sharper than he’d intended, and Alstro stiffened a little. “Sorry,” he said hastily, “I just…what bruise, Alstro?”

    She felt like she was telling him more than she should, but she also couldn’t see what good it did to keep the truth from him. Who else was there to tell? Who else could help?

    “He…he bit her,” she said thickly, shrugging. “She said that the second time she was in his office with him, he pinned her up against a filing cabinet or something and…got rough with her.”

    She didn’t know why she didn’t tell Marcello exactly what Sephiroth had done. That he’d pinned Cosmos to a filing cabinet, held her arms over her head and bitten her on the neck, all for the stupid, sick pleasure of ‘reminding’ her to wera a skirt for him… Just the thought of it was enough to make her blood boil, but something felt wrong about confiding those particular details to Marcello. Maybe because when Cosmos had told her, it had been when she was scared and alone in the middle of the night, and had chosen to ask Alstro to come over to talk to her, and no one else. It was like a secret they had agreed not to confide in anyone else, and until Cosmos decided to tell Marcello the finer details, Alstro was going to keep them to herself.

    With another pang, she started to wonder if she was getting a better understanding of how hard this had been for Cosmos to say to anyone else, too.

    “Has she shown this bruise to anyone?” Marcello asked, breaking in on her reverie.

    She shook her head. “Just me.”

    Marcello looked thoughtful. “She could bring it to the attention of her supervisor, then,” he suggested, but Alstro shook her head again.

    “I don’t think she’ll talk to anyone at Shinra now, and I don’t really want her to,” she said flatly. “I basically told her supervisor not to call again, and that was after she’d told me that Cosmos had said she was quitting. There’s no point telling them now if she doesn’t even plan on going back.”

    “That’s not true, Alstro, and you know it,” said Marcello quietly, his gaze hardening. “If he’s been doing what you say he has—and I believe you even though I don’t know the whole situation very well—then what’s to stop him from doing it to someone else now that she’s gone? Men like that don’t stop just because their target has moved away. They either start stalking their first victim, or they find a new one because it’s easier.”

    He was right, Alstro thought with a painful stab of realization. She’d even though it herself before now. Sephiroth wouldn’t stop. He’d either find Cosmos—which wouldn’t be all that hard if he already had her phone number and could probably just as easily figure out her home address—or he’d move on to someone else. Maybe someone even less protected than Cosmos. Someone who didn’t have a friend to call on, or a family to back them up when everything went wrong. She felt nauseous again, and pressed a hand to her stomach as she reached out with the other to steady herself against the back of the couch.

    She couldn't let that happen... But could she convince Cosmos to report Sephiroth to Shinra? Would they even listen, now that all this other shit had happened? Or would they be glad just to get rid of her for ruining their shining hero’s image?  
   "This is all so messed up because of him. Why did he have to fucking do this?" she whispered, wiping angrily at her watering eyes and ducking her head to avoid letting Marcello see her crying. “Why did it have to be _her_?”  
    "I don't know," admitted Marcello softly, because he felt he had to answer, "But we won't let it happen again. Not to her. Not to anyone. We’ll call Shinra, or write a letter. Something. This has to stop..."  
    Alstro nodded, then frowned as Marcello turned his head towards the TV—momentarily distracted by a news report on Shinra’s latest energy deal with Sector 9.

    She knew Marcello was angry—probably just as angry as she was—and wondered if it was that anger that made him forget, at least momentarily, that reporting Sephiroth would require victim testimony. Cosmos would be the victim, and she would have to be the one to testify. If she didn't, Shinra would have no reason to believe Alstro or Marcello, but would Cosmos even want to say anything to them? She had just gotten away. Why would she want to go back? Even to prove to Shinra what kind of man Sephiroth was...   
    Then again...Alstro had the feeling something was off. Why would Sephiroth risk calling Cosmos after today? He had no way of knowing she wouldn't say something to someone if he tried to get in touch with her, especially now that she didn't work under him anymore. She could even have recorded him, so why would he take that chance? And why call again afterwards? What if Cosmos had saved his number under his name? It could easily be traced back to him if she had... It still probably could. If he was trying to intimidate her, or scare her, why would he risk calling her so soon after she'd fled Shinra? And why in a way that could get him caught?  
    He was high up in Shinra. He had countless other ways to get in contact with her without having to use his personal number, or anything that could connect him to her... It didn't make sense...  
    "What do you want to do for now?" Marcello asked Alstro then, turning back to her with a deep frown.   
    "I don't know," she mumbled, shrugging lamely, finally lowering her hands from her eyes and instead beginning to rub them up and down her arms as though cold. She still held the phone in one hand, and frowned at it with a slightly vacant expression; half thinking of all the different things she'd like to scream at Sephiroth if she called him, half considering all the questions she had for him, too.  
    They stood there for a long moment, then Alstro sighed and began to walk towards the kitchen.   
    "I should call my boss and let him know I'm not coming into work," she mumbled.  
    Marcello nodded wordlessly and followed.   
    He waited in the doorway while Alstro made her call.

    Alstro placed Cosmos's broken phone gingerly on the counter as she held the landline to her ear, waiting for it to connect. Her brain was fuzzy with a mixture of anger, fear, and confusion, and she still felt like crying, to top it all off. She didn't understand why Sephiroth had called Cosmos...Well, she did, in a sense, but this time it didn't make any sense... Why put himself in a position to get caught? Whatever he had said had obviously set Cosmos off enough that she'd broken her cellphone, and Alstro couldn't help but consider just what that had been. And why call from a number known to be connected to him? Why say anything at all? At least anything that could be used against him... She didn't get it... She didn't even know if she wanted to get it...  
    The line clicked in her ear, jerking her abruptly back to reality as a voice sounded in her ear.  
    "Nero's Bar and Grill," said the familiar, slightly exhausted voice of her coworker Raz.   
    "Raz, it's Alstro," she said.  
    "Yo, what's up?" Raz said, sounding considerably more cheerful now that he was talking to someone he actually liked.  
    "Is Nero around?"  
    "No, he's on break," said Raz, and he paused, "Why? You calling out?"  
    "Yeah," she said, slightly apologetically.  
    "Something up with your friend again?" he guessed, sounding sympathetic.   
    "Yeah, it's...gods, it's so awful I don't even want to talk about it," she mumbled, lifting a hand to jam her knuckles against her eyes, sending white spots dancing across her vision.  
    "What happened?" demanded Raz, sounding concerned. "Was she...I know you said someone was harassing her at work... Did they...?"  
    "I don't know about that part," she admitted softly, "But some asshole coworkers of hers took this damned photo of this bitch dressed up like her and some other asshole having sex and spread it around the office apparently..."  
    There was a stunned silence from Raz, and Alstro knew the man was slowly processing the absolute repulsiveness of what she'd said.   
    "That's fucking sick," he said at last, sounding thoroughly disgusted. "Tell me she quit."  
    "Yeah, she quit," confirmed Alstro with a sigh. "She ran out after it happened and is shut up in her room."  
    "Damn..." muttered Raz, sounding both angry and sympathetic. "Just...fucking hell... Is she...I don't want to ask if she's 'okay' 'cause I know she's probably not, but..."  
    "She's doing okay," sighed Alstro, understanding his question. "As much as she can, anyway."  
    "Yeah... Damn, I'm sorry, Alstro..."  
    "Me, too," she sighed, rubbing a hand agitatedly over her face, "So...yeah...I'm not coming in tonight."  
    "Yeah, don't even think about coming in tonight," he told her sternly. "You stay with her and make sure she's alright. And whenever she's gotten back to sorta normal get her ass over here for a damn application."  
    Alstro managed a tiny smile, momentarily boosted by the man's words.  
    "Yes, sir," she said in amusement.  
    "Alrighty, now get your ass off the phone and go take care of her," he commanded. "I'll let Nero know."  
    "Thanks, Raz. Really."  
    "No problem, Al. Take care."  
    "Thanks."  
    She hung up, and set the phone down with a sigh, exhaustion setting in abruptly as she turned and headed out of the kitchen into the living room where Marcello was standing by the couch, watching the TV with a tiny frown on his face.   
    The report was still to do with Shinra, but this time was back to the war with Wutai, and—Alstro's stomach tightened—the 'war hero' Sephiroth. A picture of the esteemed general crossed the screen, and she felt her stomach squirm.   
    He was standing off to the side of a stage as a man she could only assume was Shinra's president stood at a podium, addressing a large crowd of people. The president, or spokesperson, or whoever, was gesturing energetically, his short cut hair, crisp suit, and sharp eyes giving off a very distinct 'politician' vibe. The other men around him suits, all wearing dark glasses and earpieces, scanned the audience slowly, their movements meant to intimidate. But none of them could even hold a candle to the General.   
    Sephiroth barely moved, but all he had to do was flick a gaze at an audience member or reporter who came too close to the stage and they froze up before quickly inching back into line. He stood there, arms folded, chest muscles bare, with his silvery hair flickering in the flash of innumerable cameras, and his eyes shifting untiringly back and forth across the sea of people. Alstro didn't know what it was, maybe just the way he stood with such silent confidence, but she got the sense that if anyone made a move towards the Shinra president, the General would get there before the suits could even turn their heads. The suited guards were for show. Sephiroth was the real threat, and anyone who didn't see that was stupid.   
    Alstro felt a sudden shiver go down her spine as she watched the General twitch his head to the side, obviously spotting something, and at the very edge of the camera's focus there was a slight disturbance. Alstro only saw a hand holding up a picket sign, waving it in the air, but the moment the General so much as shifted his weight towards the individual, the sign went down immediately and the crowd quieted.  
    "He's so creepy," she muttered, wrapping her arms around herself and frowning at the image of Sephiroth on the screen as the General settled back into watchful stillness.   
    "It’s his stance," Marcello said without looking away from the screen. "He’s too still.”  
    Alstro nodded firmly, glad Marcello saw it, too.   
    "How tall is he anyway?" she wondered aloud, suddenly realizing as she stared at the screen that Sephiroth had to be immensely tall, given the height of everyone around him. She calculated. If she had to guess, the Shinra president was just a little over 5 feet tall. Maybe 5'8''. His guards stood a few inches taller, the tallest, she guessed, being around 5’10”. Sephiroth easily towered over them.   
    "He's got to be at least 6 feet tall," she said, staring.   
    "Six and a half at most,” Marcello guessed. “I’ve seen Shinra’s president in person and he’s not exactly short. Taller than me by at least an inch or two.”  
    Alstro bit her lower lip. "Can you even imagine him in a room with Cosmos?" she asked quietly, tightening her arms around herself. "He's over a foot taller than her..."  
    Marcello’s frown deepened as he glanced at Alstro, then up the stairs towards where Cosmos's room was. "That’s not something I’m keen to think about," he murmured gruffly.

    Alstro nodded wordlessly, trying hard not to let her mind run away with her, but it was hard. All she could see in her mind's eye was a vision of the impossibly tall, powerful Sephiroth, and the much smaller, frailer Cosmos trapped in his office. She shivered again and hugged herself even harder as she began to rock a little back and forth.   
    "Alstro?" Marcello glanced over in time to see Alstro beginning to rock, and the girl's dark eyes had gone slightly vacant. "Hey..."  
    He walked over and gently put an arm around the girl's shoulders, frowning as he felt her trembling slightly.   
    "I want to break something," whispered Alstro, tears beginning to well in her eyes, distorting the image of the camera zooming in on Sephiroth as the conference ended and the crowd burst into cheers. "I want to make him regret that he ever did this..."  
    "I know," murmured Marcello, pulling her into a hug and rocking her gently, feeling his chest tightening, "I know. I'm so sorry..."  
    Alstro buried her face in Marcello’s shoulder, sniffling quietly. She didn't want to cry. She wanted to go and beat Sephiroth into a 12 foot grave and bury him in shit. She wanted to go upstairs and get Cosmos out of bed and make her smile and laugh until this whole nightmare went away.  
    "I hate this so much," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly.  
    Marcello gently patted her on the back, not knowing what to say. He didn't know what he could do... He didn't know Alstro that well, and—after today—didn’t feel all that confident about his knowledge of Cosmos, but he felt the need to help them both... The only question was: how was he supposed to do that when there was so little he could do?


	18. Chapter 18

[“We’re sorry…The number you are trying to reach has a voice mailbox that has not been set up…please hang up and try your call again later…"]  
“Stupid…useless…son of a…” Genesis muttered, banging his forehead against the frame of Sephiroth’s office door as the automated message droned in his ear.  
Angeal and Zack stood beside him, frowning and looking expectant.   
The dial tone buzzed in his ear and he yanked the phone away to jab the ‘end’ button before immediately punching in Sephiroth’s number again with unnecessary force. He put the phone back to his ear and resumed slamming his head against the doorframe as Angeal and Zack exchanged looks.   
One ring…two…three…four…  
[“We’re sorry…The number you are trying to reach has a voice mailbox that has not been set up…please hang up and try your call—”]   
Genesis gave a snarl of frustration, hung up, dialed again, and tried to vent his frustration by punching the doorframe. He swore as the automated message sounded for the third time, and his knuckles throbbed where he’d slammed them into the solid steel frame.  
“Well, I guess Sephiroth’s not answering,” said Angeal dully, sighing as Genesis launched into a tirade of colorful oaths and seething threats as he stomped around Sephiroth’s empty office.   
“I’m surprised he left,” Zack admitted, frowning at Genesis as the redhead overturned a wastepaper basket in his fury and sent shredded scraps of memo flying in all directions, “Given what we’ve got going on…”  
Zack had been finishing up shredding some of what he had thought were the final photos left from Jaila’s less than pleasant prank when Kunsel had come racing up from the training floor to inform him, Angeal, and Genesis that some Thirds were apparently spreading around the very same botched photo that they had just finished clearing from the fifth floor office. Further investigation had led them to discover that Jaila had left a couple copies of the photo behind when she’d finished printing them off, and a couple of ballsy cadets had taken the opportunity to create more copies from the leftovers. The result was that the photo was now circulating through half of the entire building, and was quickly spreading from office workers to SOLDIER operatives like wildfire…  
“It’s probably just as well that he did,” said Angeal, turning to his apprentice, “It’ll probably be easier if he stays out of it for the time being while we try to get this all under control. The last thing we need is him going off on someone because they’re stupid enough to try and provoke him with that photo.”  
Zack nodded his fervent agreement. Meanwhile, Genesis had now turned Sephiroth’s office into some paper version of a winter wonderland. Fragments of shredded paper were tossed hither and thither over everything, coating it like powder, and Genesis stood in the middle of the room, glaring murderously around and flexing his fingers as though itching to get his hands on something else to brutalize…like Sephiroth’s throat.  
“Feel better?” Angeal asked with a slight smile as Genesis stomped over to them.   
“Shut the fuck up,” Genesis snapped at him, still seething. “I swear, when I get my hands on him I’m going to shove my boot so far up his ass—!”  
“Alright now,” Angeal cut across him, giving him a sharp look.  
Genesis stopped his raging, but continued to grind his teeth and curl and uncurl his fists.   
“Well, let’s get back to work,” sighed Angeal, turning away from the office and starting off down the hall towards the elevators, “The sooner we get back on this, hopefully the sooner we can contain it.”  
“I say let it go,” Genesis said spitefully as he stormed after Angeal, Zack bringing up the rear, “If he’s not going to take care of it himself and go home and curl up in bed like a little bitch, I say let it keep going.”  
“You know we can’t do that, and you’re not about to let it,” said Angeal severely as they stepped into the elevator and hit the button to descend to the lower floors.   
“Give me one good reason not to,” Genesis demanded, leaning against the wall and folding his arms over his chest.   
“Because if the anti-Shinra groups get ahold of that photo, who do you think the higher ups are going to be sending into the streets to control the protests that will break out?” Angeal asked calmly, leveling a steady gaze at his friend.   
There was a long, tense silence.   
“Fine!” snapped Genesis as the elevator slid to a stop and the doors opened. “Fine! But he owes me soooo much after this! You hear me!?”  
“Yes, Genesis, we hear you,” said Angeal with a weary sigh as they stepped out onto the training floor and immediately spotted a cluster of Seconds snickering over a glossy photo print. “Come on, let’s get started…”  
He stared towards the group of Seconds, but Genesis beat him to them, and it was probably just as well because Genesis was in such a towering temper that it didn’t take long for the Seconds to meekly hand over their copies of the photo. Angeal hung back with Zack as the redhead went storming around the entire floor, taking out his anger on anyone and everyone he could.   
“Just for future reference,” Zack said as they watched Genesis shouting himself hoarse at a half dozen or so petrified cadets, “Remind me never to get on Genesis’s bad side…”  
Angeal gave a dark chuckle, arms folded over his chest as Genesis swooped down on a pair of Thirds that had just come around the corner.  
“Um…Commander Fair?”  
Zack turned at the sound of a small, slightly fearful voice that came from behind him. Lyra stood there, peering out at him from the stairwell, looking extremely distressed.   
“Hey,” he said, surprised. “What’s wrong? More photos?”  
“No, no,” Lyra said hurriedly, edging out of the stairwell towards them, looking around uneasily and wringing her hands. “It’s just…Could I…could I ask a favor?”  
“Uh…sure?” Zack said, frowning and exchanging a glance with Angeal. “What do you need?”  
“Well…” Lyra seemed to be steeling herself. She was chewing anxiously on her lower lip, and her hand wringing became more frantic the longer she hesitated.   
Zack waited, arms folded. Angeal pretended to be watching Genesis raging, but his head was slightly turned towards Zack and Lyra; listening.   
Lyra sucked in a sharp breath, then said in a rush, “Would you please go over to Cosmos’s house? Just to check on her? I’m just really worried about her and I tried to call her but…well…” She trailed off lamely, looking wretched.  
“Uh…” Zack blinked, taken back. “Is that…even allowed right now? I mean…what with what’s going on…”  
He looked helplessly at Angeal, who shrugged. “It’s not strictly prohibited at this point,” Angeal said.   
“Please,” Lyra said desperately, staring at Zack, “I know you don’t know her well, but I don’t know who else to ask. I mean…”  
She glanced uncertainly at Angeal, then even more uncertainly at Genesis, who was berating a squadron of thoroughly bewildered and cowering Third Classes who had just walked in from the track, heading for the showers.   
“You go,” Angeal told Zack, clapping him on the shoulder, “At the very least, we might be able to get some more information on why she ran out all of a sudden.”  
“True,” said Zack, though he didn’t sound convinced. “Are you guys going to be good handling things here?”  
By ‘you guys’, he strictly meant Genesis, whose face was almost the same color as his hair at this point, and who looked in danger of passing out from lack of oxygen as he continued to bellow at anyone in sight.   
“We’ll be fine,” said Angeal, though he looked weary as he turned to follow Genesis before he could vent his spleen on a newly arrived group of cadets heading up from the mess hall. “You go. I’ll call you if anything changes.”  
Zack nodded, watching his mentor go, then turned to Lyra, who looked just as distressed as before.   
“I’m sorry to ask you to do this,” she said at once as he leaned over to jab the elevator call button, “It’s just…I don’t think she wants to talk to me right now, and…I really can’t think of anyone else to send. You talked to her right before she left, so I thought, maybe, she might be more willing to talk with you about what happened. And you know the General pretty well, so…”  
That was not strictly true, Zack thought, but he didn’t correct her as they stepped into the elevator. If she’d wanted to send someone who knew Sephiroth well, she would have been asking Angeal. He got the feeling the real reason she was sending him was he was probably the least intimidating of the remaining three First Classes. Angeal was kindly enough, but the man was a bear. He was just big. Big was scary. And Genesis…well…  
Zack took the elevator back to the 5th floor with Lyra, and held the door as she stepped out and turned to address him again.  
“Could you just wait here for a second?” she asked. “I need to grab something. I got it for Cosmos, but, since you’re going and I’m not…”  
“Sure,” he said, nodding, and she hurried off to her office while he stepped out into the lobby.   
Folding his arms, he looked over into the office area, eyes scanning the rows of cubicles. It was weird, he reflected, how after losing four workers the space suddenly looked much emptier. The area also seemed much, much quieter. The only sound was the click of computer keyboards and the shuffling of papers, but nobody was speaking. He knew it wasn’t much different from the usual routine of the place, but maybe because of what had happened mere hours earlier, it seemed so different. Alien, almost.   
His eyes were drawn to Cosmos’s desk. Was it his imagination, or were the other coworkers avoiding walking near it?   
He narrowed his eyes, frowning.   
No, it wasn’t his imagination. They were absolutely avoiding the space. Workers crossing the office were darting around it and detouring through other rows to get to their destination.   
“Well then,” he muttered, frowning even more deeply.  
“Well what?”  
Lyra appeared just beside him, carrying a small box.   
“Look at Cosmos’s desk,” he said, nodding towards it, “And tell me what you notice about the other workers walking around.”  
Lyra frowned, squinting into the office. It took several long seconds, but then it seemed to click.  
“Are they avoiding it?” she asked, sounding concerned.   
“Looks that way, doesn’t it?” he said as she handed him the box. “I guess this morning really left an impression.”  
He glanced towards the other empty desks in the office. Jaila’s, Delilah’s, and Haller’s. Now that he was looking for it, he noticed that their desks were receiving just as wide a berth as Cosmos’s was. It was like watching someone dart across the street to avoid across a black cat that had tried to cross their path. Like they expected to be assaulted by some malevolent force if they came too close.   
“I can’t say I blame them,” Lyra murmured, looking sadly into the office, arms wrapped around herself. “I know I won’t be forgetting today anytime soon…”  
Zack glanced at her. She looked tired. Like she hadn’t slept in days, and it had only been a few hours. He couldn’t really be surprised. It had been a shock to all of them, but for people like him and Angeal and Sephiroth, shock was just another part of daily life. It was harder for civilians. He could only imagine what Cosmos was going to be like when he got to her place. He’d be surprised if she even agreed to let him in the house. If she wasn’t in the mood to talk to Lyra, who she knew so well, he wasn’t sure what she’d think of letting someone like him in. Especially if she thought he might be taking what she said back to Sephiroth… Yeah, that was going to be a fun hurdle, he thought.   
“Listen, Lyra,” he said slowly, “I get why you’re asking me to go over to talk to Cosmos, but I feel like there’s something else you’re not telling me.”  
He glanced down at her in time to see her avert her eyes to the floor. She also started biting her lower lip again.  
“What’s up?” he asked.   
She took a slow, rather shaky breath, and closed her eyes. “I think…there’s something going on…” she said, and every word seemed to be pulled from her, like she wasn’t sure whether or not she really wanted to say them, “Between Cosmos and…and General Sephiroth…”  
Zack frowned, bemused, but before he could speak Lyra pressed on.  
“I know she went up to his office with him afterwards, and I don’t know for certain what they talked about, but…when I thought back over it I realized that she’s been spending a lot of time in his office lately… I started to think, maybe…” She hesitated, swallowed hard, and continued, “Maybe there was some…truth…to the picture that Jaila was spreading around…”  
Zack felt his eyes widen as he realized just what exactly she was getting at.   
“You think Cosmos and Sephiroth were…?” he asked slowly.  
“I don’t know,” she said quickly, looking distressed again and beginning to rub her hands anxiously up and down her arms, “I don’t know, I just… Cosmos said she wanted to talk to me about something the other day, and we never got around to it. Then, this morning I found a note on my desk with her desk and phone number on it saying we needed to talk, but then everything else happened and…”  
She shook her head, unable to finish.   
“So...” Zack was watching her; not quite sure he could believe what she was suggesting. “You think, maybe…Sephiroth was taking advantage of her?”   
The words sounded all wrong coming out of his mouth, and for some reason he couldn’t put them together with Sephiroth. And yet, the analytical part of his brain that Angeal had worked so hard to awaken in him was already spinning into motion, adding up everything. Cosmos had been spending time alone in Sephiroth’s office, and had been trying to talk to Lyra in private—multiple times, from the sound of it—but for one reason or another kept getting interrupted. Jaila had tried to spread sexually incriminating photos of the pair of them around, using other people as stand-ins.   
The two things could be totally unrelated. Jaila could just be attempting to bully and harass Cosmos, but, like Lyra said, maybe there was something else to it. After all, some people had a very strong intuitive sense, and, as horrid as Jaila had clearly been being to Cosmos, that didn’t mean she was stupid.   
“So what exactly do you want me to do?” Zack asked, eyebrows furrowing.   
“Just…talk to her,” Lyra said, almost pleadingly, “See if she’ll tell you whatever it was she was trying to tell me. Like I said, I’d go myself but…I get the feeling I wouldn’t even get past the front door.”  
“Lyra, I’ll be honest, there’s just as much a chance that she’ll slam the door in my face than if you showed up,” he told her. “I don’t think she’s just angry at you. I get the feeling she’s just anti-everyone-at-Shinra right now. And I can’t say I blame her.”  
Lyra nodded miserably, eyes on her feet. Zack heaved a sigh, pushing a hand through his spiky hair.  
“I’ll give it a shot, though,” he said, shrugging. “No promises, but I’ll try.”  
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “Just…anything you can do, or find out. I want to make this better.”  
Zack nodded and turned back to the elevators, at the same time thinking that Lyra was being overly optimistic if she thought a visit from him would be enough to make things better for Cosmos. He only hoped not to upset the girl further. And, with any luck, maybe he could shed some light on whatever was going on between her and Sephiroth. Assuming anything was going on at all…  
Even as he thought it, though, he recalled Cosmos’s frightened, tear-stained face as she had hurriedly packed up her desk to leave, just after returning from Sephiroth’s office. And, now that he thought on it, Sephiroth had been awfully quiet since the event as well…and now he wasn’t even in the office at all. That seemed significant…  
“Ugh,” he muttered, dragging a hand over his face as he stepped into the elevator. “Workplace drama…gotta love it.” 


	19. Chapter 19

Cosmos didn’t remember falling asleep, but given the fact that she was standing in the middle of an empty office and not lying in her bed, she could only assume she’d dozed off. Still, being mostly aware of the fact that she was dreaming didn’t really help. She had a creeping sense of unease as she stood in the center of the office space, looking this way and that, not able to see or hear another living soul in the vicinity. The overhead lights were all on, but everything else was eerily still and quiet. The computer screens were black, the printers stood like silent sentinels at varying intervals throughout the room.

She looked around again, feeling a chill go down her spine, and thought she saw a flicker of something in the corner of her eye. She turned her head to follow it, but only caught a glimmer of black on the fringe of her vision before it vanished around a corner into a cubicle. She hesitated. Common sense told her a dream couldn’t hurt her, but a curling dread in the pit of her stomach told her not to follow whatever it was. Unfortunately, her feet were already moving, some intangible force pulling her across the room to follow the thing.

She edged nearer to the cubicle, and, with a sharp inhale as she braced herself, peeked around the wall to look inside. It was empty. She frowned, starting to turn away, but sudden laughter startled her so badly she nearly collided with the opposite cubicle as she jumped back.

Somebody was laughing, loudly and unnaturally, and very close to her, but when she looked around, she couldn’t see anyone. More voices joined in, laughing loud enough that her ears began to ring with the noise. Some voices were cackling, shrill and maniacal. Others were guffawing heartily. The sound filled the previously silent space to the point she could almost feel it resonating inside of her, and the unease inside her grew into full blown fear. She didn’t know how, but she knew they were laughing at _her_. Hundreds of invisible beings, all laughing, all judging her.

She looked around, frantic, and, as she did so, became aware of the fact that she was naked. She gasped, arms flying up to cover herself, and the laughter grew even louder as she spun around, trying to find a place to conceal herself, but the cubicle walls had all fallen away, leaving a vast, open, stage-like space. All of the overhead lights were suddenly intensely bright, nearly blinding her, and all seemed to angle around to spotlight her, naked and completely exposed to the world.

She could feel the tears welling fast, panic making her chest tight as she whipped around, desperate sobs choking her.

_There!_

A door.

She ran towards it, and the laughter pursued her, following her relentlessly as she raced for the only way out. She stumbled just as she reached the threshold, something having caught her hard around the ankles, and she went flying forward, the floor rushing up to meet her. She threw out her hands, eyes squeezing shut as she braced for the impact, but a pair of hands seized her firmly by the arm and around the waist, catching her before she could slam into the ground.

The laughter stopped. The only sound was of her quick, panicked breaths as the arms holding her drew her slowly upright, until she was standing in the shelter of someone’s shadow. She breathed out slowly, tears still hot in her eyes, as the stranger put their arms around her. Something draped over her shoulders, shielding her from view, and dimming the lights still burning overhead. It was warm, and soft, and a sense of security and contentment washed over her as she buried her face in the stranger’s chest, biting her tongue so hard she was afraid it she might bite it right off; fighting tears.

After a long moment simply standing in her savior’s shadow, she looked around, trying to see where they were, but her view was obstructed by a large amount of dark feathers. She drew back, startled, and gave a cry of alarm to see an immense black wing stretched in front of her, almost twice as long as she was tall. The arms around her tightened, and she looked up, half expecting to see some enormous bird of prey crouched over her. But it wasn’t a bird.

It was Sephiroth.

Sephiroth, with his piercing turquoise eyes glinting eerily in the suddenly dim room, and his silvery hair emitting an unnatural glitter as it swirled around him without wind. His marble white skin seemed to glow, and the black of his leather uniform seemed to blend with the shadows around them, blurring his outline. The immense wing, she now saw with a thrill of horror and awe, was sprouting out from his right shoulder, giving him the appearance of some bizarre angel, both terrifying and beautiful at once.

She didn’t have the ability to move away. Even as her mind screamed at her to put distance between herself and the General, her body refused to obey. She could only stand there, stunned, staring up at him in disbelief, confusion, and fear. He didn’t speak, merely standing motionless with his arms holding her close, and that enormous wing furled around them, like a cocoon. His eyes never left her face, and even with the intensity that he stared at her she found that she couldn't look away, even as her chest constricted to the point of pain and her heart drummed a bruising pattern on the inside of her ribs.

The silence from before was back, but something about it felt tense. Like the entire world was holding its breath, waiting…

She tried to speak, but couldn’t. She tried to move, even to twitch a finger, but it was like her entire body was frozen. She couldn’t even feel her fingers, or his arms around her, or anything. It was like her body had vanished entirely, and Sephiroth wasn’t so much as staring at her as he was looking right into her soul, burning her physical form away until there was nothing else.

 “Why?”

The sound was so startling she didn’t immediately realize it had come from her. She hadn’t felt her mouth move at all.

Sephiroth blinked. That slow, cat-like blink, but didn’t speak.

“Why?” she asked again, and her voice was stronger this time, echoing a little in the emptiness around them.

He stared back at her, unmoving, and she felt something more than fear begin to bubble in her veins. She reached up, finally in control of her body, and shoved. Her hands hit his chest like she’d just slammed them into a brick wall. He didn't so much as flinch, but her palms ached, and tears began to well fast in her eyes until she shouldn’t have been able to see. But she could see. She could see him standing there as clearly as ever, immovable, unyielding, uncaring.

“Why?” The word was a scream this time, and she shoved him again. “Why?! _Why_?!”

There was a low buzzing in her ear, but she ignored it, continuing to shove and push and scream, the tears streaming down her face, and Sephiroth continued to stand there staring down at her.

“Why _me_?!” She swung a fist at his face, desperate to shake him, to shatter that calm, impassive expression.

A hand caught hers. Long, warm fingers tangled with hers, and when she looked up in alarm it was to find her head resting on a pillow as she stretched out on her side, facing Sephiroth. The wing was gone, as was his deadpan stare, and his uniform. He lay with a sheet draped low over his hips, his hair spread like a curtain around them, and his eyes at half-mast as he watched her with a slight smile on his face; his lips pressed tenderly against her palm.

Her stomach gave a little lurch as the warmth of his mouth spread across her skin, and she realized with a pang that it was in delight.

She closed her eyes, trying to shut it out. She didn’t want to feel this. She didn’t want to see him like this. It was even worse than before when he’d just been silently standing there, staring at her. At least that vision of him had been more true to reality, minus the strange wing. This wasn’t real. Not even remotely real.

She was crying again, and his arms were around her as his voice murmured sweet nothings in her ear, soothing her with one hand in her hair and the other still tangled with hers. She leaned into him, hating herself, but loving the warmth of him surrounding her.

“I need to see you…”

The words were the only ones that came out clearly in the rush of murmurs falling from his lips, and seemed to echo strangely, as though she were hearing them from the end of a tunnel instead of right beside her ear. She tried to look up at him, to see his expression, but he had vanished. She was standing in his office, staring at him from across the room as he stood beside his desk. He wasn’t looking at her, though. His eyes were fixed on a young woman who was bent over, splayed on her stomach across his desk, her legs spread obscenely with her skirt hiked up around her narrow hips.  A pair of pink lace panties were tangled around her ankles, and her short blonde curls bounced as she turned her head towards him, and Delilah whimpered his name, reaching for him.

Cosmos felt disgust rise like bile in her throat as Sephiroth went to the woman, his gloved hand sliding over her exposed skin, his long fingers dipping out of sight as he stepped up behind her, and Delilah gave a wanton moan of longing, pushing back against him. Cosmos wanted to look away, but her body had frozen again, and she couldn’t even close her eyes to the sight. With Sephiroth in front of her she couldn’t clearly see what was happening, but as Delilah let out a half-scream of ecstasy and Sephiroth’s hips surged forward, she didn’t want to. The office was full of Delilah’s breathy, desperate moans and of the sound of skin slapping together as Sephiroth dug his fingers into the woman’s hips, dragging her back onto himself as he thrust forward.

Cosmos wanted to scream, to close her eyes, to vomit, to run as far away as she could. Anything to get away from the office or drown out the sounds around her. She felt sick, violated, and she could do nothing to stop what was happening. She couldn’t even wake up.

She choked back a sob, not wanting to be heard even though she had the suspicion that neither Sephiroth or Delilah would have noticed a thing. She was a ghost in her own nightmare, and it only got worse as she felt hands on her waist, and hot breath on the side of her neck. A low, familiar voice spoke softly in her ear, sending shivers down her spine,

“Miss Rielle…”

She blinked, and suddenly she was the one stretched out on Sephiroth’s desk, her body alive with pleasure, and ecstatic moans and gasps falling freely from her mouth as his cock sank into her, his fingers dug into the skin of her hips, guiding her movements. His hair spilled around them like so much silver silk, sliding over her shoulders and against her face. Distantly she thought she heard a woman’s voice shriek with triumph.

“ _Whore!_ ”

 Then, more softly, right in her ear, “Cosmos…”

She jerked awake, startled. Her vision was blurry, and the room was darker than it had been when she’d fallen asleep. She looked around, confused and alarmed, and gave a squeak of fear as a shadow loomed over her.

“Cos, honey, it’s me,” Alstro said quickly, holding up her hands and crouching down so Cosmos could see her better. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that, I was just trying to get you to wake up.”

She looked so guilty, her dark eyes stretched wide in concern, and her hands still up as though surrendering. It made Cosmos feel guilty herself, and foolish on top of everything else. She sat up quickly, pushing a hand through her hair to get it out of her face, and to cover up her embarrassment.

The woman’s scream was still echoing faintly in her ears, and her body felt oddly sensitive and hot in places she really wished it wouldn’t. She could still feel Sephiroth’s hands on her, and couldn’t help but glance down, as though expecting to see his fingers still locked tightly on her hips.

Alstro watched her with a nervous expression, still crouched beside the bed and looking uncertain.

“I’m so sorry,” she said again in a meek voice.

“It’s not your fault, baby,” Cosmos said at once, wiping a hand over her face, trying to wake herself up more. “How late is it? Have I been asleep long?”

“I don’t know,” Alstro admitted, frowning. “I just came up now to check on you and you were asleep. You were mumbling a little and shifting around, so I thought it’d be okay to wake you up. I really didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

“I know you didn’t,” Cosmos said, trying to smile, but feeling like her face was about to crack in half with the effort, “It’s okay.”

Alstro didn’t look convinced of that, but let it go for the time being. “Are you hungry?” she asked, making a stab at cheerfulness. “I could order something. You didn’t get to eat lunch today, and it’s getting close to dinner time. I figure neither of us are in a mood to go anywhere, so we could order in again.”

In spite of herself, Cosmos snorted. “We’ve been doing that a lot lately,” she mused, slumping back onto her pillows and dragging a hand over her face again. She felt exhausted, and her body felt unusually heavy.

“Do you want to go out?” Alstro asked, sounding surprised. “I thought…after today…”

She let the words trail off, not wanting to go into anything that Cosmos was not ready to discuss.

“I don't know,” Cosmos confessed with a tired sigh, frowning back at her friend, “Part of me wants to lay in bed for the rest of the week, and the other part of me wants to go out and do something and forget today happened…”

Alstro nodded in understanding. She’d had plenty of days like that, too, though none quite like this. In fact, she’d never had a day as bad as this… She would have taken it in Cosmos’s place, though, if she could have…

“Don’t you work tonight?” Cosmos asked abruptly, peering up at Alstro.

“I called off,” Alstro said with a wry smile. “Told them I had personal business to attend to.”

Cosmos’s frown deepened. “Did you tell them about what happened?” she asked quietly.

Alstro hesitated, then sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Sorta, kinda,” she said. “I talked to Raz and he asked if it was about you, and I sort of told him a summary of what happened.”

“Wait,” Cosmos interrupted, remembering, “How did you find out what happened? I didn’t tell you…did I?”

Everything was so hazy now and her dream was still so vivid it felt too close to reality. She barely even remembered what she’d done when she’d gotten back to the house earlier. Aside from the phone call with Sephiroth, and even that felt like a lifetime ago.

“No, you didn’t,” Alstro said, shaking her head. “Your boss…former boss called. Lyra. She told me. And I kind of, sort of yelled at her not to call again, and then Marcello called because he’d seen you running home and asked what was up so I told him and he came over. He’s still downstairs right now, actually. I offered for him to come up, too, but he said he thought you’d just want some girl time to start off.”

Cosmos had gone very still, a little bit of panic worming its way back into her chest and squeezing tightly.

“How much does Marcello know?” she asked uneasily.

Alstro looked guilty again, and resumed gnawing on her lower lip. “He knows about today, and…I kind of told him a bit of what’s been going on at work… I thought…I thought we could trust him with a little bit of the truth.”

Cosmos didn’t speak. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Marcello knowing just what had been going on at Shinra. Especially between her and Sephiroth… After all, how many times had he tried setting her up with some of the guys in town? Would he accept Alstro’s explanation at face value? Or would he think that Cosmos had been spurning his dating assistance because she’d been messing around with Sephiroth? Like everyone else at Shinra probably did…

The thought put a bitter taste in her mouth, and she couldn’t look Alstro directly in the eyes.

Alstro didn’t miss her reaction, and her frown deepened.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized quietly. “I didn’t know what to do…”

Cosmos shook her head, but couldn’t think of anything to say. She wanted to be okay with Marcello knowing. It wasn’t like he was a bad guy. If anything, he felt like something of a father…or maybe more like an uncle. Either way, he was always looking out for her. He’d called the house to see if she was okay after he’d seen her rushing by, and she hadn’t even noticed him. He’d come over and sat with Alstro while Cosmos had shut herself up in her room to hide from the world. He’d even chosen to stay downstairs because he thought Cosmos wouldn’t want to be too close to a guy immediately after everything had happened. But still…there was just something about including someone else in the circle, other than Alstro, that made her insides squirm. Maybe it was because she’d been hiding it for so long that to confide in anyone else felt dangerous…

 “Do you want me to order food?” Alstro asked after a long pause, clearly at a loss for anything else to say.

Cosmos thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I’m not really hungry,” she murmured, curling up under the covers again, her head tucked towards her chest. She felt like crying again, and she didn’t want to cry. She was so sick of crying.

What was done was done, and crying wasn’t going to change it, and it wouldn’t make her feel better either.

Abruptly the image of Sephiroth smiling gently at her from across a bed flashed in front of her eyes, and she felt the warmth of his lips on her hand. She curled her fingers into a fist beneath the covers, not sure if she was trying to hold onto that warmth, or drive it away. She had a sudden, insane urge to call him. To hear his voice. Then she felt sickened with herself for even thinking it and curled even more tightly upon herself.

_What the hell was wrong with her?_

“Cos…” Alstro had seated herself gingerly on the edge of the mattress, and reached over to touch Cosmos’s still visible hand. “Where are you going?”

Cosmos looked up, surprised. “What?”

Alstro gave her a sad smile. “You were leaving me again,” she said softly, squeezing her friend’s hand. “You had this faraway look and you were staring right through me.”

“Oh…sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry, baby.”

They sat for a while, not speaking. Downstairs, Cosmos could make out the quiet drone of the TV and wondered what Marcello was watching while he waited for one or both of them to return.

“Do you want me to leave?” Alstro asked eventually.

Cosmos thought for a long moment, then sighed. “For now, please,” she said quietly. “I just want to rest for a little longer. I’ll come down in a bit.”

Alstro nodded, understanding, and after giving Cosmos’s hand another reassuring squeeze, she got to her feet and headed for the door.

“Call me if you need anything,” she said as she started to step out.

“I will,” Cosmos promised, managing a small smile.

Alstro nodded, still hesitating. “Cos, I’m really sorry for telling Marcello,” she apologized, “I should have waited until you were there.”

Cosmos pushed herself up into a sitting position and met Alstro’s gaze from across the room. “No, you shouldn’t have,” she said firmly, “You were the one telling me to tell someone and I never did. I’m glad you told Marcello, Alstro. Really. Who knows”—she gave Alstro a little grin—“maybe he can give us a clue on what might have been going through Sephiroth’s head. That whole guy thing.”

Alstro gave a snort of derision, looking more like her usual self for a moment. “I’m not even convinced Sephiroth is a guy or a man or a human or whatever,” she said dismissively. “Guys can be scummy for sure but he was just…” She trailed off, glancing uncertainly at Cosmos. “Well, he was just whatever he was. And I don’t like it.”

Cosmos gave a feeble giggle, and Alstro smiled.

“I’ll be downstairs, baby,” she said softly, and after Cosmos nodded she finally stepped out and closed the door behind her.

Cosmos stared at the closed door for a long moment, not really seeing it. She was too busy picturing the dream Sephiroth in her mind. With his immense black wing.

_“I’m not even convinced Sephiroth is a guy or a man or a human…”_

She lay back on the bed, frowning to herself. Dreams of Sephiroth were one thing, but where had that wing come from? And why just the one? She’d dreamt of angels before but…

She heaved a sigh, feeling a slight throbbing in her temple. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. She didn’t want to think about Sephiroth, or her dreams, or her nightmares, or anything else to do with him. Not right now… Maybe not ever…

She closed her eyes, realizing a she did so how heavy they felt. Everything felt heavy for some reason… Maybe it was just the exhaustion… Sighing again, she rolled onto her side, curled up in a ball. She’d go downstairs in a bit, she decided, after she’d worked up the energy.

As she dozed, half awake and half asleep, her mind wandered, and she let it. It wandered back to a warm hand in her hair, and a soft voice in her ear, lulling her to sleep. She stretched out a hand without thinking, imagining placing it against a firm chest, almost able to feel the long strands of hair trailing over her fingers. Something welled up inside her, burning in her throat, and she buried her face in the pillows, glad that Alstro wasn’t there to hear her.

“Sephiroth…”


	20. Chapter 20

Marcello looked up from his position on the couch as Alstro reappeared at the top of the stairs, and frowned. She looked out of it. Her gaze was slightly out of focus, and she didn’t seem immediately aware of her surroundings and she half-stumbled, half-glided down the stairs, her dark brown eyes fixed unseeingly on a point in front of her.

“Alstro,” he called softly.

She looked around at him, though he could see from her semi-vacant expression she wasn’t really hearing him. He tried again.

“ _Alstro._ ”

She blinked, her vision clearing somewhat, and looked at him in slight surprise, as though just realizing he was there.

“Hey,” she said quietly, frowning and coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. “Sorry, I was…thinking…”

He merely nodded. He wasn’t about to start making jibes at her for having her head somewhere else. She’d be hard put not to with the situation being what it was.

“How is she?” he asked, nodding upstairs.

Alstro glanced briefly over her shoulder, then shrugged, looking morose. “I don’t know… She was having a nightmare from the looks of it, but she didn’t say about what. I can guess, though,” she added in an icy tone, her expression darkening. “Anyway…she said she’d come down in a bit when she felt up to it. I think she might go back to sleep though.”

“She deserves all the peace and quiet she can get at this point,” he said gently as she moved over to seat herself in one of the armchairs.

Alstro nodded, but didn’t answer as she tucked her legs under herself and pulled a pillow tight against her chest.

Marcello watched her over the top of the pillow, noting her expression growing steadily more vacant. She was fading out again.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

She blinked, then shrugged. “As well as I can I guess,” she mumbled. “I’m just worried about her, and there’s not a lot I can do…”

He nodded in understanding, wishing he could do more. “Did she anything when you talked to her? I know you talked about ordering dinner.”

“She said she wasn’t hungry,” Alstro sighed, looking anxiously back up the stairs. “And that worries me a lot, too. She never just skips out on food.”

“She’s thin enough as it is without missing meals,” said Marcello, also a little concerned. “We’ll order food anyway and take her something later if she doesn’t come down. The last thing she needs to be doing right now is going on a diet.”

He tried to inject some humor into his voice, but it didn’t seem to register with Alstro. She was biting nervously on her lower lip, still staring up the steps.

“Something else is bothering you,” he said knowingly, leaning forward and planting his elbows on his knees to look at her more directly. “What is it?”

She chewed very hard on her lip, shooting him a look. He didn’t miss the unease he saw there, but decided not to comment on it, merely waiting.

“I don’t know if I should have told you what I did,” she admitted finally, closing her eyes and hugging her pillow even more tightly. “I asked Cosmos…well, she asked me what you knew, because I told her you were here, and I think it bothered her. She’s been avoiding telling everyone about this since it started, and I think she’s worried about getting other people involved.”

Marcello processed that for a moment, nodding slowly. “She’s also probably worried what I think about it, having come into it from the outside without any context,” he mused.

“I think so,” Alstro admitted. “I mean…you’re a guy, and I think that kind of bothers her, even if she won’t say it. I think she’s worried you might see it from…from Sephiroth’s side…”

She didn’t like the way the words felt in her mouth as she said them. She’d only known Marcello for the past hour or so, but she had a good feeling about the man. Comparing him to Sephiroth…well…that just made her uncomfortable.

“Not in a million years,” Marcello said sternly, shaking his head. “I have no respect for a man who doesn’t respect a woman. However”—he held up a hand to forestall her, because she’d looked around in outrage at the word—“However, I do want the whole story, because I don’t think we have it. I can’t speak for Sephiroth personally. I don’t know anything more about him than you probably do. In fact, you probably know a bit more, given that you have closer contact through Cosmos. But I think there’s something missing. Even Cosmos might not have the entirety of what’s going on.”

Alstro bit down hard on her tongue, because she was longing to disagree with him, even as something in her stomach shifted uncomfortably. She’d wondered that very same thing, except as far as she was concerned she didn’t necessarily mind missing pieces of information. All she really felt she needed to know was that Shinra had made Cosmos’s life hell, and Sephiroth worked for them, and Sephiroth had—by his own actions—made Cosmos’s life hell, whether he’d meant to or not.

Then, abruptly, and as though from a far distance, she heard Cosmos’s voice, as Cosmos had come dashing into the house in tears:

_“It wasn’t Sephiroth and I don’t want to talk about it.”_

Cosmos hadn’t quit today solely because of Sephiroth. She’d quit because this Jaila woman had turned her life into a living nightmare by making nasty insinuations about her and Sephiroth. But, Alstro argued with herself, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have quit eventually because of Sephiroth. That just meant Cosmos had gone ahead and pulled the trigger and quit anyway, and probably for the better. Gods only knew what would have happened if she’d stayed… Even if Jaila hadn’t done what she had, Sephiroth could still have done whatever he’d planned on doing… And what about that phone call? He’d called her. He had to have. She had no solid proof it was him, but who the hell else could it have been?

Briefly, Alstro recalled the livid bruise on Cosmos’s collarbone she had seen her first night here, and something ugly rose in her, clawing and shrieking with rage. She was visited by a very vivid image of smashing Sephiroth’s skull into a brick wall over and over and over again, but then it was gone and she was staring into Marcello’s bearded, worried face.

“You look like you don’t believe a word I just said and that it wouldn’t matter even if you did,” he said wearily, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Do I?” she asked, a little embarrassedly.

“You had murder in your eyes, missy,” he told her, wagging a finger at her. “And I don’t blame you one bit, but I also know that people that are as scared and hurt as Cosmos sometimes don’t think clearly. That’s not to say I don’t believe her at all, because I also know she’s not a liar, but I have to consider that—as a man, and having experienced things you, as a woman, have not—there is entirely the possibility that there is some serious lack of clarity and communication going on between both sides. Perhaps you’re right and Sephiroth is nothing but a worthless piece of vermin who likes to abuse women. And perhaps he isn’t.”

“What the hell else could he be, though?” she asked, a little exasperatedly.

“You said yourself that you think he is assaulting her,” Marcello ventured, “Or that he _was_ assaulting her, before she left today.”

He waited until she’d nodded before proceeding.

“You also said that she has not been entirely sold on that idea.”

She nodded again, but this time had to interrupt. “I think she’s attracted to him, though,” she said, and she felt a little guilty admitting it. “I mean…she’s never said that outright, but I think she was attracted to him before all of this. She told me there’d been a time before that he’d gotten her alone before the time he put that bruise on her, but she didn’t call me about that time because it didn’t scare her.”

Marcello considered that. “So you think she doesn’t want to see what he’s done as assault because she likes him, to a degree,” he surmised.

She nodded helplessly.

“That’s entirely possible, too,” he said, shrugging. “Like I’ve said, Alstro, I don’t know the whole story. But neither do you, and maybe neither does Cosmos. But I don’t like to accuse people before I have all the evidence, and I’d like to be able to ask Cosmos herself, once she’s calmed down a little.”

Alstro was chewing her lip again. What he was saying made logical sense, but it made her stomach churn even considering the idea that Sephiroth might not be every bit the villain she was imagining him to be. Maybe because, in a way, she blamed him for what had happened today. Not just the assault, or whatever it was he had done, but what Jaila had done. If the woman hadn’t had a reason to suspect that Sephiroth and Cosmos were doing anything, she might not have put out that photograph…

The doorbell rang, making her jump, and Marcello straightened up, his dark eyes flashing as he turned to look at the door.

They both sat motionless for a moment, staring at it, and then there was a series of polite but firm knocks.

She exchanged a look with Marcello, who got to his feet and crossed the room.

The knocking had stopped for a moment as he reached it, but started again, and he waited for it to subside before gripping the handle, and pulling the door open a crack. There was a long pause.

“Zack?”

Alstro frowned at the surprised recognition in Marcello’s voice.

“Marcello?” a young man’s voice sounded equally surprised as it spoke from the other side of the door.

“What are you doing here?” they both asked in unison.

Marcello coughed lightly in amusement. “Visiting a friend,” he said airily, opening the door slightly wider, so Alstro had a glimpse of a dark haired young man standing there.

He was rather tall, with black hair sticking up all over the place, and startlingly blue eyes that were, at the moment, wide with surprise and delight. He was also, Alstro couldn’t help but notice, exceptionally handsome.

“No kidding,” the man said, hands on hips, beaming at Marcello. “Guess I have the wrong house.”

“Maybe not,” Marcello said, his beard twitching in a smile, “You know I know everyone.”

“Yeah, you do,” snickered the young man, grinning. His teeth were dazzlingly white. “I’m looking for Cosmos Rielle.”

Marcello raised his eyebrows as Alstro stiffened.

“Are you now?” asked Marcello mildly, glancing over his shoulder at her, noting her rigidity. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with work, would it?”

The young man’s smile slipped slightly, and he looked a little wary. “Uh…I don’t know if I’m actually at liberty to—” he began, but Marcello cut across him.

“I already know, Zack,” he said quietly, his smile disappearing as well. “Or, at least, I have more details than I think your boss would probably like me to have.”

Zack looked even more uneasy now, and scuffed the toe of a boot uncertainly on the doormat. “Well,” he said, blowing out a sigh, “That’s…well…”

“Mm-hmm,” Marcello agreed, glancing at Alstro again before stepping back. “Why don’t you come inside and we can discuss it a little more privately?”

Zack nodded his head, and stepped over the threshold. Marcello closed the door firmly behind him and locked it, then gestured for him to take a seat on the sofa. As Zack approached, Alstro got slowly to her feet. She’d meant to make herself taller, and give herself a little more confidence, but she quickly lost her confidence altogether as Zack drew up to her. He easily overshadowed her, and she had to tilt her head back to look into his face. She wasn’t exactly short, either, so this was more than little unnerving.

“Hi,” he greeted her uncertainly, offering a tentative smile and a hand for her to shake, “Zack Fair.”

She took his hand, her stomach lurching a bit as his easily engulfed hers, and shook.

“Alstromeria,” she said, “I live with Cosmos.”

She said it more as a warning than an introduction, and felt a little surge of satisfaction to see he’d gotten the point. His expression tensed a little, and he lowered his gaze.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized softly, and he sounded sincere. “For what happened today. She told you what happened?”

He glanced at her and she nodded, glaring at him. She couldn’t help it. She knew she didn’t really have a right to be angry at him, especially since she didn’t even know him, but just knowing that he was associated with Shinra, and that he was aware of what had happened today, was enough.

Marcello had settled himself on the end of the couch and gestured for Zack to join him. Alstro waited until Zack had taken a seat on the very edge of the sofa before she resumed her seat in the armchair; hugging her knees to her chest.

“So, Zack,” said Marcello calmly, turning himself to have a better view of the young man, “I assume there is a reason you’re here to talk to Cosmos.”

“A couple,” agreed Zack, and he shrugged off a small rucksack he’d been carrying. He unzipped a pouch, and pulled out a small box, which he placed on the coffee table. “Lyra, Cosmos’s boss, asked me to bring that.”

Alstro leaned it to take a look. The box was from a bakery she recognized. For some reason, she was suddenly furious all over again. Was that all Cosmos’s suffering was worth to these people? A cake or some cookies or stupid shit? Not even a goddamn card?

Her anger must have shown on her face, because Zack was looking warily at her as he zipped his bag back up.

“I think Lyra feels guilty for what happened,” he said, as though hoping to appease her a bit.

It didn’t help.

“So, she feels shitty,” Alstro said coldly, “But not shitty enough to bring it herself.”

“I’m just the delivery boy,” he said, putting up his hands in surrender.

“Ease up a bit, Alstro,” Marcello said gently, “Zack’s good people.”

“He works for Shinra.”

The words came out in spite of herself, and they were not so much spoken as hurled. She wasn’t doing a great job of containing her anger, but at this point she didn’t really care.

“Yes, he works for Shinra,” said Marcello, still in his calm, deep voice, giving her a look over his tangled beard, “But not everyone at Shinra is the scum of the earth.”

Zack gave Alstro a small smile, but his expression was a little sad. “I am sorry for today,” he said earnestly, “If I’d had any idea, I would have done something about it. What happened today isn’t the norm for Shinra, which I’m sure doesn’t exactly make you or Cosmos feel better, but…” He gave a helpless shrug.

Alstro eyed him for a moment, then sighed, letting the tension drain out of her a bit. Venting her fury on him wouldn’t help, especially not when it was Jaila or Sephiroth or Cosmos’s shit boss she really wanted to beat to hell and back.

“So,” Marcello ventured carefully, “I think you’re here to do a little more than deliver food for Cosmos.”

Zack hesitated, glancing around at the older man, but when their eyes met, he seemed to give in and nodded. “Yeah,” he admitted, “Aside from bringing that, Lyra also wanted to see if I could talk to Cosmos about Sephiroth.”

Alstro had just managed to relax a bit when Sephiroth’s name was spoken, and she tensed all over again, her pulse quickening and her blood starting to simmer.

“What about him?” she asked curtly.

Marcello glanced at her, but didn’t intervene this time.

Zack frowned. “She thinks something weird was going on between Sephiroth and Cosmos,” he admitted slowly, as though weighing every word. “She said she wanted to talk to Cosmos herself and called, but got hung up on.” He gave her a contemplative look, then grinned a little. “I’m guessing you had something to do with that.”

“Maybe I did,” she said with a sniff. “And if she thought something was going on, why didn’t she do something about it?”

“I’d guess because she didn’t know about it until today,” he said, shrugging. “I didn’t get all the details. Like I said, I’m just the messenger boy. I think they were hoping if they sent someone cute enough I might not get shot on sight.”

The feeble joke made Alstro smile a little in spite of herself, and she sighed heavily, hugging her knees even more tightly to her chest.

“Cosmos is upstairs right now,” she told Zack quietly, “She’s trying to rest. I went up to check on her a little bit ago and she said she’d come down when she felt like it, but I don’t know if that’ll be today or not.”

Zack nodded in understanding, looking sympathetic. “I get that,” he said, and there was that note of sincerity in his voice again, “And if she doesn’t want to talk to me at all, I get that, too. Lyra asked me to come here because she couldn’t get through, but I also came because I wanted to help Cosmos if I can. She didn’t deserve what happened today and I kind of got the feeling something was off after talking to Lyra. I’d like to kind of get a feeling for what, if I can.”

Alstro nodded slowly, but was still hesitating. She didn’t know if she should be trusting Zack. Marcello clearly did, but… She glanced towards the stairs. Cosmos’s door was still firmly shut, and she couldn’t hear any sounds that indicated her friend was making any progress towards getting up and joining them. She looked at Zack again. His expression was polite, and open, but she saw a glimmer of concern in his brilliantly blue eyes, and she felt something in her give.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter kind of mixes new with old. I'd been trying to find a way back into the old storyline for the original version of this (because, damn, I miss it, and I'm running out of ideas for new content), and I think I finally found one, but we'll just see how it goes. Cheers!

Alstro took a slow, steadying breath, closing her eyes for a moment, then exhaled, and opened them again.

“I don’t know…what’s safe to tell you,” she admitted to Zack.

“Probably nothing,” he admitted with another little grin, “I’ve been told I have a big mouth.”

Marcello coughed a little, and Alstro couldn’t help the answering smile that worked its way onto her face.

“And of all the people Shinra could have sent to interrogate Cosmos, they decided on you?” she asked.

“Well, to be fair,” he said, “Shinra itself didn’t send me. I’d probably be the _last_ person they’d send. I’m unqualified.”

His expression turned serious for a moment.

“If you really don’t feel comfortable talking to me, then don’t. Seriously,” he said, because Alstro looked disbelieving, “I’m dead serious. Look, how about this: I’ll leave my number for Cosmos, and she can decide when she’s ready whether or not she wants to talk to me. Or to Lyra. Or to whoever. If not, then that’s that.” He put up his hands as Alstro continued to squint skeptically at him. “I just want to help, but I also know that sometimes helping means staying the hell out of other people’s business.”

He waited, looking into Alstro’s face as she observed him. Finally, she nodded, and he dug in his rucksack for a pen and paper. He scribbled his number down quickly, handed it to her, and got to his feet.

“You’re leaving already?” she asked, startled. Even Marcello looked a little surprised. 

“Well, since my only business here was to talk to Cosmos, and she’s probably not up to talking today, I might as well head back,” he said, shouldering his rucksack and giving a small smile.

Alstro nodded slowly, figuring he was probably right. But before he could step towards the door, a question formed on the tip of her tongue and spilled out before she could stop it.

“What exactly happened?” she blurted out. “I didn’t get all of it from Cosmos, and Lyra only gave me a snippet of it, but…”

She shrugged lamely when Zack blinked at her.

“Well, to be fair,” he said, frowning a little and folding his arms, “I didn’t get the whole story either. I mean, I kind of did, but I more walked in on it in the making.”

Alstro looked up at him, not sure if she really wanted to hear all the gruesome details now, but knowing it would drive her absolutely insane if she didn’t have them. She loved Cosmos, but she didn’t think she was going to get the whole thing from her either. And calling Cosmo's boss for the whole story was the last thing on her mind. 

“Well, I think I’m going to be here a while,” said Zack, plopping himself back down and reaching to flip open the bakery box. He hesitated halfway to taking a pastry out of it, and glanced at Alstro. “Do you mind if I…?”

“Help yourself,” she said, waving a hand. She probably wouldn’t let Cosmos eat a damn thing out of that box anyway, just because of the simple fact that it had been sent by Lyra. Petty? Yes. But she felt she had a right to be a little petty at the moment.

Zack selected a donut from the box and kicked back on the couch. Marcello settled himself down as well and they fell silent while Zack munched thoughtfully for a few seconds.

“I was with Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth in one of the training rooms upstairs,” he started, narrowing his eyes in concentration. “Lyra came to talk to Genesis and said she had something she needed him to look over. I think she was recommending one of her workers as an office aide or something.”

When he caught Alstro’s puzzled look, he explained.

“The higher ups in SOLDIER get a hell of a lot of paperwork to do. You know, filling out cadet reports and ordering materia from our science department and stuff like that, but they also have a ton of crap to do as far as training the cadets in person and going on missions, so they don’t usually have a lot of time to do their own paperwork. Anyway, Genesis has a couple already, but they’re still behind, so Lyra was promoting someone up to help out. We decided to go to her office together, since we were about to break for a bit anyway, and when we got off the elevator we heard this bang and some screaming and when we looked into the office that woman, Jaila, was on the ground with her face all covered in blood, and Cosmos was standing over her.”

He paused for a moment to finish off his donut while Alstro stared at him. Lyra had said Cosmos had punched Jaila, but Alstro had figured it had been a lot less impressive than it had sounded. Apparently it was the opposite.

“It was actually pretty scary, I’ll admit,” said Zack, frowning as he looked up at Alstro, his startling blue eyes shadowed beneath his furrowed brows. “I’ve seen a lot of people lose their tempers and had to get in the middle of it—with Genesis and Sephiroth it kind of comes with the territory, they’re always going at it. But Cosmos was different about it than the people I usually have to manhandle.”

“How so?” Marcello asked, arms folded and eyes narrowed over his bushy beard.

“It was like…” Zack contemplated for a moment. “It wasn’t even like anger. It was just…it was beyond anger. I told her to stay calm, and she talked like she was perfectly calm. She was coherent and everything, but she sure as hell didn’t say that she was calm. When I told her to calm down, she just told me to look at the photo Jaila had been spreading around and _then_ tell her to stay calm.”

“Did you?” Alstro asked.

“Look at the photo or tell her to stay calm after I looked at it?”

“The second part.”

Zack gave a humorless smile. “No, I sure didn’t. And, what was even creepier than that, was when I told her not to do something she’d regret, she told me, verbatim, ‘I am beyond anger, Commander Fair, and there is nothing in my mind right now that I would regret doing’. _That_ creeped me out. And, believe me, it takes a lot to do that. I’m kind of trained to avoid being creeped out.”

He took another donut and leaned back against the cushions while Alstro stared at him, not sure if she was really shocked or not. Maybe she was a little shocked, because Cosmos had never, ever lost her temper before. At least not like she clearly had today. But, at the same time, it didn’t really surprise her that that was how Cosmos had reacted.

“What happened after that?” Marcello asked. “Did she run out after that and come here or did something else happen?”

“No, she didn’t run out after that,” said Zack, shaking his head. “Actually, I was still kind of holding her back, in case she decided to try and beat on Jaila again, and Sephiroth asked for the photo.”

Alstro had been internally cringing every time Zack had said Sephiroth’s name so far, but now she went stock still.

“He saw it?” she asked apprehensively.

“Yep,” said Zack, nodding. “And he wasn’t happy about it either.”

“What did he do?” she asked quickly.

“He got real quiet for a few seconds, which is never a good sign with Sephiroth,” said Zack, giving another empty smile. “Sephiroth is the most dangerous when he gets quiet. After he looked at it for a bit, he called out Jaila and these two other workers who were involved and told them to pack up their stuff and leave because they were fired.”

In spite of herself, Alstro felt a small surge of grudging respect for Sephiroth. It was exactly the kind of thing she’d have done, to be honest. If she didn’t beat them all into the ground first.

“He didn’t even let Jaila get herself cleaned up before he had her pack her desk,” Zack said. “She had to sit there with her nose bleeding and pack everything before the time he gave them was up.”

“In the time he gave them?” repeated Marcello, eyebrows raised.

“He gave them half an hour or he was going to have security haul them out,” Zack explained.

Alstro really wished she didn’t like hearing what Zack was saying about Sephiroth’s punishment, but she couldn’t help the bit of reluctant admiration that was slowly growing for the General.

“And after that?” Marcello prompted.

“Sephiroth asked Cosmos to come up to his office,” Zack said, and Alstro was immediately tense again, all admiration forgotten in a split second. “Angeal, Genesis and I stayed behind to shred up the photographs in the office and Lyra went to make a phone call.”

Alstro felt an uneasy churning in the pit of her stomach, and pressed a hand hard to it to try and dispel it. It didn’t help.

“So…” she said slowly, and Marcello and Zack both turned to look at her, “She was in his office with him. Alone. Again.”

Zack seemed to tense a little, and his eyes darkened. He leaned forward, planting his elbows on his knees, to look more directly into Alstro’s stormy expression.

“What do you mean ‘again’?” he asked quietly.

Alstro hesitated. She’d gotten so comfortable talking to Zack she hadn’t stopped to think before she’d spoken. Damn it. That was exactly what she’d been afraid of in the first place…

She opened her mouth, stopped, and closed it again; shaking her head. “I told you I wasn’t sure what was safe to tell you, remember?” she mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

“You did,” he agreed, though his eyes were still intent on her face. “And I told you if you weren’t ready to talk to me, and Cosmos isn’t ready to talk to me, that neither of you have to.”

That was true… She didn’t really know how much she could trust Zack at all. Especially with this particular bit of information. What if it got back to Sephiroth somehow? They were clearly friendly with each other, as often as Zack kept bringing him up…

“I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head again. “I just…I don’t want to say anything else until Cosmos is here… It’s her story, not mine.”

Zack nodded slowly, seeming to understand, but he also looked a little uncertain. He exchanged a glance with Marcello, but the older man merely shook his head minutely. Zack sighed, and dropped his gaze, frowning at the floor. After a few moments, he lifted his eyes to Alstro’s face. She didn’t seem to be looking at him. Her eyes were on him, but there was a vacancy to her expression. When Marcello gave a loud cough to clear his throat however, she blinked and seemed to come back to herself.

“So they went up to his office?” she asked quietly, clearly prompting him to keep talking.

Zack got the distinct feeling she was trying to get him off the subject of Cosmos being alone with Sephiroth in his office. “Again”. That part bothered him, and he wanted to ask about it, but he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. Not right now, at least. 

“Well,” he said, “After that, Cosmos was gone for a while, and we were shredding photos. Then she came running down the stairs and into the office and started shoving stuff into her bag. I went to ask what was up because she looked so upset that I thought maybe Sephiroth had laid her off, too, but she said he hadn’t. She wouldn’t answer any of my questions, and before I could ask anything else, she had run for it. She started to go to the elevator, but when she almost ran into Lyra she went for the stairs instead. I think she just wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as she could and didn’t want any of us stopping her. Sephiroth got off the elevator literally right after that and we asked him what had happened but he didn’t really say much.”

He took yet another donut from the box to give himself time to catch a breath.

“Lyra sent me downstairs after that after she’d called security to stop Cosmos leaving, but by the time I got down there, she’d already left. I went up to the training floor with Genesis and Angeal a bit after that because we still had stuff to do, but then we got a tip off that there were more photos still going around the building so we had to get back on that pretty quick. We went to get Sephiroth to have him help deal with it, but he was gone, too. I figured he went home for the day so he didn’t have to deal with it all.”

Zack noticed Alstro shift, and glanced over at her. She had gone rigid in her seat, and was staring at him in a mixture of horror and fear.

“He left the office?” she asked in a small voice.

“Yeah,” said Zack, nodding.

“And you’re sure he went home?” Alstro asked sharply, resisting the urge to jump out of her seat and run to the window to look outside.

“No,” he said, “I just assume that’s where he went. He wouldn’t answer his phone, either.”

Yeah, she’d bet he hadn’t. If he’d called Cosmos and she’d hung up on him, he’d probably have been furious enough to leave the office. He probably hadn’t picked up his phone because he didn’t want them to be able to track him. Again, she had the sudden, almost irresistible urge to go peek through the blinds just to make sure Sephiroth wasn’t lurking outside in the bushes. She pulled her knees up to her chest to restrain the urge, though it hardly helped.

“And then?” Marcello hedged when Alstro didn’t immediately encourage Zack to continue.

“Lyra called me down for a favor, asked me to come see Cosmos, and here I am,” Zack said, spreading his arms in a gesture of mock grandness. “Last I heard, Genesis was yelling himself stupid at everyone in sight for having the photo, Angeal was running interference in case it got out of hand, and everyone else is running around like chocobos with their heads cut off trying to contain the nightmare.”

There was a long silence, and Zack took the opportunity to snatch a fourth donut. The box was half empty now. Meanwhile, Marcello was looking sideways at Alstro, who was biting on her lower lip again and staring blankly at the floor.

“Alstro,” he said quietly after a moment, and she jumped. “Do you want to tell Zack about the phone call?”

She looked up, slightly startled, then glanced sideways to where Cosmos’s damaged and broken phone lay on the coffee table. Zack perked up a bit at Marcello’s words, but didn’t speak right away, instead glancing between them, waiting for someone to draw him into the conversation.

Alstro deliberated, thinking so hard and fast it made her brain hurt. She wanted to tell someone, but she also didn’t want to tell Zack. If she told him, it could get back to the wrong people. But if she did tell him, it could also have the biggest impact…

Zack watched her for a long moment, noting the conflict in her dark eyes, and seemed about ready to say something when a quiet click and creak from upstairs made them all freeze. Alstro’s head snapped up, and her eyes riveted on the top of the stairs, where she could see Cosmos shuffling out of the bedroom, rubbing at her eyes as she sighed.

“Cos!” Alstro was on her feet instantly, but she hadn’t even gotten two feet from the couch when Cosmos waved a hand at her, indicating she should sit back down.

“I’m coming down,” the girl mumbled tiredly, beginning to trudge down the steps, “I figure if you guys are going to talk about me, I should be around to hear it.”

“I’m sorry, baby, I wanted to let you rest,” Alstro said gently as Cosmos got to the bottom of the stairs. She walked over, a hand half outstretched, and Cosmos took it, giving it a brief squeeze before letting go to shuffle over to the couch.

She dropped onto it, her eyes still red-rimmed and tired looking, and snagged a pillow to hug to herself. As Alstro settled beside her, she sent Marcello and Zack a weary smile.

“Who brought me donuts?” she asked, noting the open box.

“Your former boss Lyra sent donuts via Zack,” Alstro explained a little tightly, eyeing the pastries with clear hostility.

Cosmos considered the donuts for a moment, then shrugged and took one. “Donuts are donuts and I need sugar,” she sighed, beginning to nibble on one side.

“How’re you feeling?” Zack asked gently, leaning forward to look at her.

He felt ridiculous asking the question, but it felt necessary, though she looked horrible. Aside from her reddened eyes, her skin was pale and she looked so far from the fiery being he’d seen in the office that morning that it left him a little more than unsettled. She looked almost ghostly. It was a clear sign that the struggle with Jaila, and with everything else he didn’t know about, had taken far more of a toll than he’d ever realized, and was finally starting to show.

“I’m actually doing better than I thought,” Cosmos admitted. “I think quitting was probably beneficial for my health.”

She said it jokingly, but the tired look in her eyes, with the slightest hint of relief, told him she was dead serious. He couldn’t blame her.

“Cosmos, I know it won’t in any way make things better, but I am so sorry for what happened today,” he murmured, frowning. “You didn’t deserve that. Not even remotely.”

She shrugged, and he felt his gut clench uncomfortably. “It’s over,” she said idly, but wouldn’t meet his eyes.

She was withdrawing, trying to forget. He wondered just which part she was trying to forget the most…

“Oh…”

She had just looked at the coffee table, and seen her broken phone.

“Found your phone,” Alstro joked, but her expression was stiff and her eyes were dark.

Cosmos threw her friend a weak smile that didn’t even come close to reaching her eyes, then reached forward with her free hand to pick up the damaged remains of her cellphone.

“I liked this phone, too,” she sighed remorsefully, setting her donut down to turn it over in her fingers.

“I’ll get you a new one,” Zack promised automatically.

“I don’t think they make this model anymore,” she objected.

“I know a guy,” he said, giving her a little smile.

She blinked, then smiled back. “That’s really nice of you, Zack, I appreciate it.”

He nodded, thinking rapidly. He had the question in his mind, but how to phrase it without setting off a bomb…

“About the phone, though,” he said, nodding towards the ruined device in her hands, “And if you don’t want to answer me right now I understand, but…Lyra seems to think there’s something going on between you and Sephiroth. And...well...”

He glanced briefly at Alstro and Marcello, not sure how to phrase the words.

Cosmos lifted knowing eyes to him, then flicked a glance at Marcello, who in turn glanced at Alstro, who looked down guiltily.

“You saw who called,” Cosmos guessed, looking at Alstro, who nodded, lifting her head for a moment to meet the other girl’s intense gaze. Cosmos sighed and looked down at the phone for a long moment. “It’s weird…maybe because I know I don’t have to go back that I don’t mind talking about it now…”

She looked up at Zack, who met her gaze with a small frown.

“Was it Sephiroth?” he asked.

She nodded. Beside her, Alstro shifted slightly in her seat, her eyes darkening.

“What did he want?” Zack asked softly after a long pause.

Cosmos deliberated for a moment, her gaze sliding away from his, but it didn’t seem to be in an attempt to escape this time…

Alstro leaned closer to her friend, looking at once anxious and intent, and Marcello watched with a steady gaze as well, his hands folded neatly in his lap as Cosmos finally shifted her gaze back to Zack.

“He wanted to see me,” she murmured.

“Okay,” said Zack slowly, “Did he say anything else? Did he want to talk about what happened at work or anything?”

Cosmos shrugged. “I don’t know.” She gave a rueful smile. “That was when I threw the phone.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooo boy. I was worried I wasn't going to get this one updated on time and I'm cutting it close as it is thanks to moving from a wi-fi enabled house to a (temporarily) wi-fi disabled apartment. And between hefting boxes and shoving furniture up a flight of stairs, every muscle in my body is about ready to give out. I need a massage. I bet Sephiroth would give a good massage......Logging that thought away for a potential later chapter... Enjoy!

Zack frowned, contemplating Cosmos’s weary smile.

“So, that was all he said?” he asked, “Or was that all he got to say before you threw the phone?”

 “Is there a difference?” asked Cosmos tiredly, lowering her head onto the pillow. “What he got to say and what he was going to say…?”

“It does matter, Cosmos,” Zack said firmly. “If he said something that upset you so much that you voluntarily bludgeoned a cellphone…”

Cosmos gave a tired little snort of almost amusement, and buried her face deeper in the pillow.

“It upset me that he thought I was still under some kind of obligation to do what he wanted,” she mumbled, her voice muffled against the pillow’s fabric. “He didn’t even apologize for what happened today… He didn’t ask how I was, or anything like that. He just went right into convincing me to come back, and setting up a meeting to talk to me, and all this other crap…”

Zack frowned, and Alstro’s eyes narrowed even as she reached out to rub her friend’s back soothingly. Marcello glanced sideways at Zack, also frowning.

“I’d had enough of it,” sighed Cosmos, leaning into Alstro’s touch. “I was tired, I was upset, I’m still upset, and I was totally humiliated today, but he wants me to come back anyway. Why the hell would I go back there…?”

“You wouldn’t,” Alstro said, rubbing her friend’s shoulder, “And no one’s going to make you. As a matter of fact, Raz says we need to drag you over to the bar ASAP to get you set up with a job there.”

She smiled gently at Cosmos, who turned her head to look at her friend.

“You can even move in with me and you won’t have to live over here,” she prodded gently when Cosmos didn’t return her smile. “I’m only a fifteen-minute walk from the bar.”

Cosmos nodded mutely, but Alstro could see her friend wasn’t really listening. She was withdrawing. Alstro internally cursed. She shouldn’t have brought up shifting jobs and houses right away. Cosmos was just trying to get over what had happened a few hours ago. She couldn’t process anything else right now, and she shouldn’t have to.

“Would you like something else to eat?” Zack offered, breaking into the sudden, uncomfortable silence, noticing that Cosmos had finished off her donut.

“…No thanks,” sighed Cosmos, shaking her head minutely. “I’m not really hungry…”

Zack nodded once in understanding, but exchanged a worried look with Alstro. Marcello sat quietly, watching, and frowning as well.

Zack’s phone rang then, causing the girls to jump while Zack stiffened. Cosmos actually lifted her head to raise an eyebrow at Zack as he yanked the shrilly ringing device from his pocket to scowl at the caller ID. Then his eyes grew wide, and he looked hesitantly at Cosmos.

“I…have to take this,” he said softly.

She nodded once, understanding, and tucked her head into the pillow again.

Zack slid off the couch and hurried into the kitchen before flipped his phone open to answer it.

“Fair,” he said calmly.

“Zack,” Angeal’s voice issued from the other line, “You still at Rielle’s place?”

“Yeah, I’m still here,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at Cosmos and Alstro.

Marcello had stood from the couch and taken up a position behind it, just behind Cosmos, watching Zack without speaking while Alstro laid her head on her friend’s shoulder.

“So what’s up?” he asked. “Did Shinra collapse while I was gone?”

“No, but we’ve got some bad news,” sighed Angeal wearily. “Apparently the paper copies of the photo that got passed around today weren’t the only ones.”

“You’re kidding,” said Zack in disbelief.

“Turns out Lyris had the picture backed up on a drive, and she used the company network to print them en masse from the industrial printers, which is how she managed to print so many so quickly. Long story short…”

“It’s still in the system,” said Zack in disgust. “And anyone can find it and print it or whatever they want…”

“Yeah,” said Angeal. “We only found out a few minutes ago. Genesis was on the eighth floor and heard a bunch of Third-Classes hooting and hollering over it. The idiots were dealt with, but apparently they decided to print off copies for their friends, and when he checked their phones they’d even gotten the file and e-mailed it to other people.”

“So it’s still spreading through the building,” sighed Zack, dragging a hand over his face.

This was such bullshit… He wanted to beat Jaila for this, and he wasn’t the kind of guy would ever have considered raising his hand to a woman. But this was just…this was too much. She wasn’t even in Shinra anymore, and neither was Cosmos, but the damage was still taking its toll…

“Did the guys have any idea who the girl was supposed to be?” Zack asked.

“No,” Angeal admitted. “But that’s not our big concern anyway.”

“It’s Sephiroth,” said Zack in an undertone, understanding. Of course it was. Sephiroth’s doppelganger, poor as it was, was clearly recognizable from the photo. It was unlikely that Cosmos would get any backlash from the new round of photos, since most of the people who were accessing them were unfamiliar with her, but Sephiroth’s reputation was going to suffer for this. As obvious as it was that the man in the photo clearly wasn’t him.

For a brief moment, Zack didn’t care what happened to Sephiroth’s reputation. He didn’t care that the General might become the butt of a cruel joke or lose respect in the eye of the public, but then he shook the thought away violently, shocked at himself.

It was one thing to be upset at Sephiroth for something he’d done, it was another to wish ill on the man for something he hadn’t… In a sense…

At least, he hoped that Sephiroth had never done anything like that picture depicted…

“What do you need me to do, Angeal?” he asked with a sigh.

“Wrap things up there and come on back,” Angeal replied. “We need some damage control, and as it is we’re drowning. We’ve tried to get the higher ups in on the situation so they can be ready to handle it if it gets past office boundaries, and they’ve been notified of the circumstances involving the photo in the first place, but Genesis and I are up to our eyeballs in this.”

“What about Sephiroth?” Zack asked, frowning. “Has anyone told him?”

“Actually, nobody’s been able to get ahold of him,” Angeal admitted, “Though not for lack of trying. Genesis has tried getting through to him half a dozen more times without any success. I don’t know what the higher ups are doing about calling him in, though I figure it’s probably better to leave him out of it for as long as possible.”

Zack had to suppress a snort as he wondered briefly if Sephiroth would answer if Cosmos was the one calling, then felt childish. He was doing a lousy job of keeping his emotions under control right now… He needed to get it together.

“Alright, I’ll head back over there, then,” he said. “It’ll take me about fifteen.”

“See you here,” said Angeal, and hung up.

“What’s up?” Alstro asked as Zack pocketed his phone and walked back into the living room.

“Nothing good,” he answered, shaking his head and frowning.

He hesitated, eyeing Cosmos for a moment, then heaved a sigh. No point hiding it…

“Apparently Jaila uploaded the photo onto the company’s network and some idiots got ahold of the file even after we got rid of all the physical copies,” he said quietly, and Cosmos stiffened. “Now they’re e-mailing it all over the office and having a good laugh, except no one knows about Cosmos’s involvement. They’re all sending it around at Sephiroth’s expense, since it’s obvious who the guy in the photo was supposed to be.”

Alstro bit her lower lip, caught between triumph and guilt. “And what does Sephiroth have to say about it?” she asked.

“No one knows.” Zack shrugged. “He ditched work and isn’t answering his phone.”

Alstro blinked in surprise. “So does he even know about it?”

“No idea,” sighed Zack, shrugging again. “I’m willing to bet not. He left almost right after everything with Jaila went down so he probably doesn’t even know about the extra paper copies we had to deal with…”

“Yeah…” murmured Alstro, lowering her gaze. “So, do you have to leave?”

“Yeah.” Zack blew out a huge sigh and shook his head. “I’m apparently needed for damage control. I’ll try and drop by later if you need me, though.”

“I think we’ll be fine,” Alstro said, glancing uncertainly at Cosmos, to see if her friend might contradict her.

But Cosmos merely nodded without speaking, her face still pressed into the pillow.

Marcello and Zack exchanged a look, and Marcello nodded reassuringly.

“I’ll stay,” he said reassuringly.

Zack nodded back, looking a little more relaxed at the idea, and then after nabbing another donut from the box he headed for the door.

“You’ve got my number if you need me,” he said as he exited. “And I’ll see about grabbing that replacement cellphone while I’m out.”

Alstro blew out a sigh as the door closed behind him, and frowned at Marcello as the room fell uncomfortably silent. Cosmos didn’t seem to really notice, comfortable, it seemed, to keep her head down and her eyes hidden. Alstro almost thought she might be crying, but she knew Cosmos wouldn’t hide that from her.

“So what should we do?” Marcello asked, his tone light, friendly.

Alstro shrugged. “No idea,” she admitted. “I guess we could zone out in front of the TV and see if there’s any junk food left worth having.”

Marcello nodded, then gently patted Cosmos’s shoulder. Cosmos sighed, and groped for the man’s hand, giving a brief squeeze in return, before flopping sideways onto the couch and curling in on herself.

“Do you want to go back upstairs to bed, baby?” Alstro asked, gently rubbing her friend’s arm, “You don’t have to hang down here if you don’t want to.”

“I’m tired of crying in bed,” mumbled Cosmos.

“So you’re going to cry down here instead?” Alstro teased lightly.

“Yes,” huffed Cosmos. “At least they’re donuts down here.”

“Fair enough,” chuckled Alstro, exchanging a grin with Marcello before reaching for the TV remote and beginning to flick through the channels.

They sat and watched TV for the better part of the afternoon. Marcello took up a spot on the other loveseat and they settled down to watch brain numbing sitcoms until the sky outside the window grew darker, and eventually Alstro got up to turn on the inside lights and order food for dinner.

“We’ve been eating out a lot,” Cosmos noted as her friend came back from dialing up the nearest takeout place.

“Well, it’s going on my bill until you’re employed again, so don’t worry about it,” Alstro reassured her, patting her on the leg as she resumed her seat. “Are you going to eat dinner with us, Marcello?”

“If you don’t mind,” Marcello replied, smiling so his dark eyes crinkled at the corners.

“I don’t,” Alstro said, and glanced at Cosmos, who shook her head.

“I don’t either.”

They settled back in to watch TV while the food was on the way, and Alstro only got up one other time to use the bathroom and turn on some of the upstairs lights. While she was roaming through the upstairs rooms, Marcello glanced over at Cosmos, who was half-asleep on the couch by this point.

“Cosmos?”

“Hm…?” Cosmos cracked one sleepy, slightly red-rimmed eye open to look at Marcello.

“Is there anything I can do?”

Cosmos managed a sleepy smile. “You’re doing it,” she told the man softly.

“What am I doing?” Marcello asked, looking a little surprised.

“You’re here,” Cosmos replied, shrugging, “That’s what helps the most. If I was alone, I’d probably still be upstairs in tears. Having people around helps.”

Marcello nodded slowly in understanding, though he seemed to be thinking about something as well. “Are you going to move in with Alstro after this?” he asked after a moment.

Cosmos paused, falling into thought. She hadn’t really said anything earlier, because, honestly, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to go or not.

“I don’t know,” she admitted finally, frowning. “I mean…I know it makes total sense to move in with her, given where I’ll be working, and it’s not like it’d be a huge chance from what we’re doing now, but…”

She trailed off with a lame half-shrug, averting her eyes.

“This is your home,” Marcello said understandingly. “It’s hard to leave home.”

“I’ve just been living my own way for so long, and I’ve liked it,” Cosmos said in a small voice, ducking her head into the pillow again. “I still do. It’s nice to have people over every now and then, but…I like that it’s temporary. I like being on my own most of the time. I get to do what I want, how I want, and don’t have to worry about what other people think. It’s my safe zone.”

Marcello nodded again slowly. “I understand.”

“I know it makes no sense to stay here,” mumbled Cosmos from behind the pillow, “But it’s what I’m used to, and I don’t adapt to change well… I like things the way they are. You know, minus the whole mess with Shinra, but that’s over and done with now…”

Marcello smiled slightly, seeming lost in thought for a moment. “How do you feel knowing that picture is still going around?” he asked after a brief pause.

“I honestly don’t know,” admitted Cosmos, popping her head back up and resting her chin on the top of the pillow, gazing with eyebrows furrowed at the TV. She was quiet long enough to watch an actor in a ridiculous top hat stumble over his own feet into a wall, then turned her eyes back to Marcello. “Part of me is upset, I think, because it was a picture made to get to me, but another part of me is okay with it because not a lot of people really know who I am, and it’s not because of _me_ that the picture is going around now…and then I don’t know how to feel knowing that’s it’s because of Sephiroth that people are making a big deal out of it.”

“Because you’re still angry with him,” guessed Marcello.

Cosmos gave a noncommittal jerk of the head. “I don’t even know if it’s angry,” she confessed in a low voice. “I think I’m just…too tired and relieved to finally be away to really feel anything else right now. I’m still kind of in shock over it all. It’s kind of like I dreamed the whole thing up. And tomorrow I’ll probably wake up and panic because I’ll have thought it was all a dream and I still have to go into work and see him.”

“But you don’t,” Marcello reassured her as Alstro reappeared at the top of the stairs. “You don’t have to see him again. You don’t have to talk to him again, or anything like that. He doesn’t control you.”

Cosmos nodded, hugging the pillow tighter, as though afraid of letting anything get closer to her than the pouf of feathers and cloth. She knew Sephiroth couldn’t control her, but trauma was trauma, and she was certainly traumatized. She didn’t need a specialist to tell her that…

But the weird part was, deep down inside, in the same place where she resisted the idea of moving in with Alstro, there was a part of her that was strangely sad knowing she wouldn’t be returning to work at Shinra, and she didn’t understand it. For now, she chalked it up to emotional instability. After today, she felt she had the right to be a little off-kilter.

Alstro came slowly down the stairs, giving Marcello and Cosmos time to switch topics if they wanted, but then hurried a bit faster when the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Please let that be food,” Alstro said hopefully, darting for the door.

Marcello and Cosmos exchanged amused looks.

“She gets hungry when she’s stressed,” Cosmos explained in a conspirator’s whisper to Marcello, who chuckled.

“Doesn’t everyone?” the man responded with a wink.

“Depends,” said Cosmos, “I can go either way. I either stress to eat, or stress to sleep.”

“Which is it right now?” Marcello asked.

“Sleep,” said Cosmos with a weary smile. “So totally sleep.”

“Then go to sleep, you nut,” said Alstro, marching back over with a bag of takeout in her hand. “Go on, off to bed with you.”

“But couch,” said Cosmos with a pathetic little sniffle, looking up at Alstro with an expression so reminiscent to a kicked dog that Alstro actually felt her throat close for a moment.

“Alright, you can sleep on the couch,” she laughed after the moment had passed, and she dragged a pillow onto the floor to sit in front of Cosmos, “And if you get hungry, speak up, because otherwise I am eating every single thing in this bag, regardless of whether it’s actually appetizing or not.”

Marcello raised a bushy eyebrow and glanced back at Cosmos, who smirked.

“Stress eater,” she mouthed, and he chortled.

An hour later, all the takeout was gone. Cosmos had managed to swipe the fortune cookies from Alstro, not that her friend had objected to getting a little something into her friend. Marcello had partaken of most of the box of fried rice, since Alstro wasn’t a huge fan, and now they were all fully satiated, zoning out in front of the TV.

Well, Alstro and Marcello were zoning out. Cosmos was fast asleep on the couch, her head tucked behind the pillow, her side rising and falling slowly with every breath.

Alstro glanced back at her friend every now and then and frowned, her eyebrows pulling together in concern. Marcello noticed more than once, but waited until about the tenth or eleventh time it happened to comment.

“You’re still really worried, aren’t you?” he asked without taking his eyes off of the TV.

“Wouldn’t you be?” Alstro asked with a sigh. “Like if it were Zack, or someone really close, wouldn’t you be worried, too?”

“Absolutely,” agreed Marcello, nodding. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t be worried, but she needs time.”

“Yeah…” Alstro looked down into her lap, thinking. “I heard you guys earlier, talking about the move. I know she doesn’t want to leave here, and I don’t blame her… I just worry about what she’ll do if she has to stay here. And I honestly just kind of want to get her off of Shinra’s radar… If she’s living with me, she might be able to, you know?”

Marcello nodded. “I think it’s a good idea if she gets distance from them,” he murmured, turning to look back at Cosmos asleep on the sofa, “I just don’t think she’s ready for that yet.”

“Just like with Sephiroth,” muttered Alstro, “She wasn't ready to say anything until it was too late…”

“Not too late with Sephiroth,” Marcello pointed out. “Too late with Jaila, and I can’t blame her for that. She told her boss what was going on. That was Shinra’s fault for not handling it sooner. Which…as much as I hate to bring it up, kind of proves her point, doesn’t it?”

Alstro frowned. “You mean that even if she said something, nothing would get done?” she guessed.

“Yes… Wasn’t that what she was worried about?”

“That’s what she used as an excuse,” sighed Alstro, “But I do think it was in the back of her head all the time, too… And I hate that. Why does it have to be like that? Why can’t people just do their jobs like they’re supposed to?”

“Not everyone is as diligent or worried about her as you are,” Marcello pointed out gently.

“Yeah, well.” Alstro turned a little pink, embarrassed, and shifted around on her pillow. “A decade and some later, I wouldn’t be a good friend if I wasn’t worried… She spent the better part of the last few years worrying about me, I figure it’s my turn now.”

Marcello frowned, tilting his head a little to look at the serious look on Alstro’s face. “I don’t think that’s how it works, necessarily.”

“No,” Alstro agreed with a wry smile, “But it’s how we work… Crazy and stupid as it is…”

Marcello smiled softly. “It’s only crazy and stupid if it doesn’t work,” he said.

Alstro grinned at him, her dark eyes warming. “I guess so,” she chuckled.


	23. Chapter 23

Since Cosmos had no job to go to anymore, the following morning Alstro dragged her along to her shift at Nero’s bar, a fifteen-minute train ride away in another part of town. They offered for Marcello to accompany them, since the man had ended up spending the night, but he had shaken his head and declined, saying he needed to get to get back to his newsstand.

Zack hadn’t come back the previous night, but Cosmos and Alstro had gotten a call from him before they’d left saying he’d ended up crashing in Angeal’s office, since they were still trying to deal with the photo leak, and it didn’t look to be getting better anytime soon.

“Everyone’s working their asses off,” he said in a dead tired voice, “But it’s spreading faster than we can cut it off. And Sephiroth still won’t answer his damned phone.”

“Maybe he’s sulking,” Alstro had suggested in a mutter to Cosmos as she’d listened in on the conversation. “Big bad General didn’t get what he wants, so he’s going to go throw a tantrum at home.”

Cosmos had smiled and taken a bite of her bagel. In spite the hellish day she’d had before, she looked far more cheerful and bright-eyed than she had the night before, though Alstro noticed there were some lines under her eyes and she still looked a little far away whenever Shinra’s or Sephiroth’s name got mentioned.

But as they walked into Nero’s bar at noon, Cosmos’s eyes were full of hope as she looked around the building, her gaze lingering on the smooth, polished tables and booths, and the jukebox in the corner as it belted out tunes for the bar-goers to listen to. As they entered, a couple of the men at the tables lifted their heads and waved at Alstro, who grinned and waved back, clearly recognizing her regulars.

At the bar, a guy who looked to be about Alstro’s age was mixing drinks at an inhuman speed, his head stooped a bit to keep from hitting it on the neon lights that lined the overhanging light fixtures, and his sleek brown hair streaked liberally with blond and red tumbled into his eyes as he swirled vodka and juice together before sliding it down the bar to the customers. His sleeves were rolled back to his elbows, and he wore a rather snug fitting vest over the button-up shirt, though the collar gaped a little at the top; a silver chain gleamed beneath the white cotton garment as he turned to beam at Alstro as she skipped behind the bar to join him.

“Sup, girly?” he asked, snagging her into a one armed hug. “Missed you last night.”

“Sorry,” she apologized with a guilty smile, “Was it bad here?”

“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “Only a few of the regulars and one big group that came in and hung out ordering drinks and playing cards for a bit. Yas was here working for extra hours, so she covered for you.”

“I love that girl,” sighed Alstro, beaming. “Think she’d marry me?”

Raz snorted and smirked. “Yeah, sure,” he joked, “Let me just bring it up with her tonight when I meet up with her and her fiancé.”

“Shit, that’s right, she’s engaged,” said Alstro, clapping a hand to her forehead.

Raz laughed outright and ruffled her hair, then turned to look at Cosmos, who was lingering uncertainly at the edge of the bar and looking around like she wasn’t totally sure what she was doing there.

“This your friend?” Raz asked, offering Cosmos a friendly smile as she realized he was watching her.

“Oh, yeah, this is Cosmos,” Alstro said, beckoning for her friend to come over.

Cosmos gave a tentative smile as she came up beside Alstro, and Raz answered with a dazzling smile and offered his hand.

“Raz,” he introduced himself as she took his hand and shook.

“Cosmos,” she said, feeling a little more confident looking into his friendly face.

“Heard you’re looking for work,” he said, leaning back against the bar. “You ever worked in a bar before?”

“No,” she admitted. “Office work.”

“Eck,” he said, wrinkling his nose. “Good pay, sure, but I prefer mixing drinks to filing papers. Fortunately, and unfortunately, you won’t be mixing drinks to start off. Newbies get cleaning duty.”

He nodded out towards the tables and booths, which boasted a few scraps of used napkins and straw wrappers.

“Cool,” said Cosmos with a wry smirk.

Raz grinned and snickered. “I can’t start you today, since Nero isn’t here and we need you to fill out employment sheets and all that crap, but he’ll be in tomorrow if you want to swing by again.”

Cosmos nodded, smiling brightly, considerably cheered. “Sure. Sounds good.”

“You should stay for my shift, though,” Alstro added immediately, hugging her friend’s arm. “So I don’t have to listen to Raz be obnoxious the whole time.”

“Wooow,” said Raz, pretending to look offended as he clapped a hand to his chest. “I’ll have you know, I am so not obnoxious. I’m charming, alright?”

“Says who?” snorted Alstro, smirking at him.

“My customers,” he sniffed, turning his nose up at her.

“You mix their drinks. They have to say nice things to you or you might spit in their martini,” Alstro teased, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Plus, you always have your shirt hanging open like a stripper or something. They’re just hoping you’ll unbutton it lower.”

“How do you think I make such damn good tips?” Raz joked, winking slyly.

Cosmos and Alstro exchanged a look, and burst out laughing.

“I think I’m going to like working here,” Cosmos giggled.

“Of course you will,” said Raz confidently. “You’ll be working with _me_.”

“Don’t fall for it, he’s a total idiot,” Alstro confided in Cosmos in a not-so-quiet whisper. “You’ll want to beat him by the end of your first shift, but you can’t. It’s maddening.”

“She constantly comes at me with a broom,” Raz admitted, grinning at Alstro. “One time she actually chucked a vodka bottle at me. Nearly killed me.”

“You asked me to toss it to you, you prat,” Alstro retorted, “You were out of vodka behind the bar and I was bringing out a fresh one, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.” Raz blinked, as though recalling the memory. “That did happen, didn't it? Your aim sucks, though. Just saying.”

Alstro aimed a kick at his shins, but he side-stepped with a snicker.

“Well, get working, girly,” he told her, hip-checking her as she slid by him towards the back room.

“I’m going,” she sniped, though her eyes danced with laughter as she glanced back at him.

Raz grinned and chuckled, then turned back to Cosmos as Alstro vanished around the corner.

“Well, grab a seat, mi’lady,” he invited Cosmos, gesturing towards the bar. “I’ll mix and we can mingle.”

She smiled at him, then stepped back around the bar to slide onto a stool as he pulled down a glass and twirled it easily in his hand, almost like juggling.

“What’s your poison?” he asked, gesturing towards the assorted collection of alcohols behind him.

“Hmm…” Cosmos eyed the selection for a moment. “Surprise me. What’s your most popular?”

Raz grinned at her, and began pulling bottles at lightning speed.

“As a matter of fact, it’s a concoction of my very own invention,” he said grandly as he easily spun bottles into and out of his hands and back onto the shelves. His hair flashed under the lights, and she watched, entranced. It was like watching a magician at work, mixing potions or something. And he never so much as slipped or faltered.

When he turned to hand her the finished drink, the liquid swirled an interesting violet color, and smelled like fruit and chocolate.

“Citrus vodka, white chocolate liquor, and a smidge of raspberry juice,” he said, pulling a lime wedge from under the bar and fixing it onto the side of her glass before leaning his elbows on the bar as she pulled the drink towards her. “I call it ‘The Raz’.”

Cosmos smirked at him as she lifted the glass to her lips. “So very inventive,” she teased.

“I know, I’m a genius,” he said, winking and grinning.

“You’re an absolute nerd is what you are,” Alstro informed him, reappearing from the employee’s backroom with hair pulled back and an apron around her hips.

“She’s just jealous of my insanely good looks and intellect,” Raz confided in a whisper to Cosmos, who smirked.

“He wishes,” Alstro muttered as she slid by to go wait a table.

Cosmos grinned, and watched her friend flit around tables, checking on customers and refilling drinks at a dizzying speed.

“So, Miss Cosmos,” Raz said, leaning up against the bar and grinning. “Tell me about yourself.”

“Where to begin,” she sighed, toying with the lime wedge on her drink, “I’m an unemployed bum, for starters.”

Raz snickered, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Not for long,” he said, wagging a finger, “Soon you’ll miss your days of unemployed bumness. I’ll work you into the ground.”

Cosmos shot him a shrewd look. “Alstro was right,” she confirmed, “I already feel an impending need to beat you, for my own self preservation.”

Raz outright laughed at that. “Give it a week,” he told her, flashing a dazzling smile, “It only gets worse.”

They chatted for a while, about the job, about Raz’s time at the bar, about Nero—their absent manager—and Yas, Raz’s younger sister. They had a few part-timers that showed up every few days for a shift and some extra cash, but most of them were temporary with other employment, and only needed the bar job to cover their gambling habits. Alstro slipped in every now and then to make a comment about Raz’s personality, or to ask if they had any more of this, that, or the other as a customer had asked. Other than that, she was buzzing around the room taking care of business.

“So,” Raz said after the first hour, and Cosmos had pushed her empty drink glass back towards him, “I’ve been holding back on this ‘cause I figure it’s not exactly…a great topic of conversation…”

Cosmos glanced sideways at the bartender, noting his hesitant tone of voice, and the way he was very studiously cleaning her glass without quite looking directly at her.

“I heard you got out of a tight spot recently,” he said, and his voice was gentle.

Cosmos lowered her eyes to the bar’s highly polished surface, staring at her own reflection. It figured Raz would know, given how close he and Alstro apparently were…and the number of times Alstro had had to call out or beg for an adjustment to her schedule for Cosmos’s sake undoubtedly would have prompted some questions…

“I’m not asking you to talk about,” Raz assured her, “I just…I want you to know we take care of each other here. Alright? Yeah, we’re a little weird and we throw stuff at each other occasionally, but we’re family.”

His expression as he looked at her finally was gentle, and he offered a little smile.

“So, welcome to the family,” he finished, grinning. “You’re stuck with us now.”

Cosmos couldn’t help but smile back, feeling a little flare of hope in her chest. “Oh, the tragedy,” she joked, and Raz chuckled. “I bet the family reunions are a riot.”

“Gods, you should have seen Nero last week!” Raz exclaimed, and launched into a thrilling tale of the week before when their manager had apparently juggled several bottles of liquor, a lit candle, and a full wine glass, all while completely, staggering drunk.

Cosmos couldn’t stop laughing, watching Raz imitate some of the moves and actions that had apparently taken place; even going so far as to juggle a few bottles himself.

By the end of the shift, her face hurt from smiling, her abdomen was tight from laughter, and the hellish experience of the day before seemed like a distant nightmare getting smaller and smaller the more time she spent in the bar.

Once Alstro’s shift was over almost nine hours later, the bar was mostly empty, it had gotten dark outside, and Cosmos was somewhere between giddy and totally exhausted.

“You look more wiped out than me,” Alstro commented as she shrugged out of her apron and yanked her hair out of its pony tail. “And you just sat here with this idjit all day.”

“I have that effect on the ladies,” Raz said with a sigh, leaning on the bar and pushing a hand through his hair, trying to look suave.

Alstro raised an eyebrow and lightly kicked his shin, causing him to stumble and cling to the bar as he lost his balance.

“Rude,” he huffed, straightening up and pouting.

“Nerd,” Cosmos and Alstro retorted, then cracked up laughing.

“Ha ha ha,” Raz sniffed, hands on hips, but he was grinning at them. “Well, ladies, off you go. Yas’ll be here any minute. And you”—he pointed a finger at Cosmos—“I will see you this weekend.”

“This weekend?” she repeated, blinking in confusion.

“Sunday to be precise,” he said, “Sunday’s are our slowest days. I figure we’ll start off with the easier shifts and work you gradually into the chaos of the uglier ones.”

“Basically, he’s going to condition you so that by the time you realize the absolute insanity of this place, it’ll be too late to run,” Alstro muttered to her, grinning.

“See, she’s got the idea,” said Raz.

Cosmos smirked. “Too bad for you, I’m already totally out of my mind,” she informed him as she slid off the bar stool to stand beside Alstro, “Insanity isn’t anything new to me.”

“Pity,” sighed Raz dramatically as they headed for the door, “I always like watching the insanity take hold, the mad gleam that takes root in the newbies’ eyes, the occasional full body twitches...”

“G’night, Raz,” Alstro called, waving a hand over her shoulder at him.

“G’night, Al,” Raz called back, grinning as he watched the two girls head out of the bar.

Cosmos and Alstro took their time heading back to the train station. It was dark, and the lamps were all coming on, but the streets weren’t totally empty, and here and there a few people meandered around in groups, chatting away.

Alstro linked arms with Cosmos and looking hopefully at her friend. “So,” she said, eyes glittering, “What’d you think?”

“I think this is going to be awesome,” Cosmos said, beaming.

Alstro returned the brilliant smile, her expression gleeful. “Right?” she said excitedly, “I swear, you’re going to love everyone. Nero’s an ever bigger nerd than Raz, and Yas and I just kind of have to nod and put up with them, but it’s so great. I know you’re going to love it!”

She rambled on while they walked, clearly much more excited about the whole thing than Cosmos was. Cosmos was definitely anxious to start working at the bar, but she couldn’t help the quiet dread that had settled in the pit of her stomach right after they’d left Raz. Maybe it was because she didn’t have any distractions to keep her from dwelling on it, but the later it had gotten, and the closer it had been to the end of Alstro’s shift, the more uneasy she’d become. She wasn’t even sure why… Well…she knew what had been on her mind that had caused it, but she didn’t get why it was such a big deal…

It had started when Raz had briefly mentioned Shinra in passing during his recounting of a catering party the bar had held the previous year. It had been insane, he’d told her, and everyone—even the part timers—had gotten called in to work that night. Shinra officials had been all over the bar, ordering drinks and food and being a general nuisance.

“I swear,” Raz had told her, looking exhausted at the mere memory of the ordeal, “You’d think office workers would have a bit more restraint, but maybe it’s because they have to sit all week like they have poles up their asses that they cut so loose once they get out for the weekend.”

He’d gone on for a bit longer about it, until he’d seen the slightly vague look on Cosmos’s face, and then switched topics. She’d figured he thought she was bored with the topic, but she’d actually been thinking about the day before, and Jaila, and everything else that had happened. It still seemed so faraway, and at the same time far closer than she’d thought. Almost like she hadn’t really thought it had happened, but it had, and it still hadn’t quite sunk in…

“Cos?”

She jerked a little, turning her head to look at Alstro. She hadn’t even realized she’d stopped listening to her friend.

“Sorry,” she apologized, blinking rapidly. “I zoned out.”

Alstro frowned, and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “Were you thinking about yesterday?” she asked.

Cosmos hesitated to answer, but under Alstro’s penetrating stare she couldn’t lie. “A little,” she admitted with a lame shrug, “It’s just…I don’t know. I’m so excited to work with you and Raz and everyone, but I just keep thinking about it…”

“About Shinra?” Alstro prompted.

Cosmos nodded. “I don’t think I really understood how messed up it was yesterday because I was so upset,” she admitted, “But now that I look back on it…”

“It happened and it’s done,” Alstro said gently. “It was fucked up and wrong, but it won’t happen again.”

“I know that,” Cosmos murmured, looking straight at her friend, “That doesn’t mean I don’t still…think about it…or that I won’t think about it…”

Alstro nodded slowly. “Yeah…” she said, lowering her gaze.

They were at the train station now, and were just in time to step on one of the cars before the doors closed. They found a double seat in the back and sat down; arms still linked. As the train started forward, Alstro laid her head on Cosmos’s shoulder.

“Raz knows,” she murmured after a while.

“I figured,” Cosmos said with a weary smile.

“He doesn’t know specifics,” Alstro said quickly, “Just…he knows someone screwed you over… I’ll warn you, he’s probably going to go full big-brother mode on you after you start working there. He does it with Yas and me and it’s a nightmare.”

She grimaced, but there was fond amusement in her eyes as she thought of her coworker.

“He’s a good guy you know,” she added, glancing sideways at Cosmos. “A bit of an idiot, but a good guy.”

Cosmos slowly turned to stare at her friend. “Alstromeria,” she said in disbelief, and Alstro winced at the use of her full name, “Are you trying to set me up with him _already_?”

“No,” Alstro laughed, “I’m just throwing it out there for future reference!”

“Oh, so you’re _planning_ to set me up with him, just not during the first week,” accused Cosmos, jabbing her friend in the side.

“No! …Maybe?”

They broke into laughter and couldn’t stop for the rest of the ride home. They were both so exhausted from the day they didn’t even have the strength to order food when they got back to Cosmos’s house. They dug out leftover pizza from the fridge, heated it up—or, Cosmos heated her portion up; Alstro ate her pizza cold—and plopped down in front of the TV for a late night movie before calling it a night. Alstro took a shower while Cosmos changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed.

The moon peeked into the room through the window, and Cosmos watched the silvery beams illuminating dust specks in the air as she laid listening to the sounds of water running in the bathroom.

She still couldn’t fully wrap her head around everything… Yesterday had been a total and complete nightmare. She’d been humiliated, laughed at, and chased out of her job…well, she’d run away from it, anyway… But what else could you do when no one in your office had any respect or consideration for you, and the star of the entire company had less than innocent designs on you?

She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. She wondered what Sephiroth was doing now… Had he already found some new guinea pig to inflict his fantasies on? Or was he still locked on her? Without her cellphone, she didn’t think he could get in touch… He could have called the house phone, but he probably knew she wouldn’t answer…

_I want to see you_ …

She tensed, her entire body going rigid as the words echoed in her mind, so vivid it was almost as though they were being spoken in her ear again.

He wanted to see her… Yeah, right… She rolled over onto her other side, yanking the sheets up to her chin and closing her eyes tightly. If she had her way, he’d never see her again...unless her funeral was public.


	24. Chapter 24

Zack slumped down in his chair, eyes almost rolled completely back in his head, and blew out a massive sigh.

“Please,” he said tiredly as Angeal dropped heavily onto the floor beside him, “ _Please_ , for the love of all things good, tell me that was the _last_ one.”

“No,” said Genesis irritably, stalking through the door with three rumpled but still glossy photos in hand and shoving them angrily into the shredder. It whirred violently, spewing fragments of photo paper, and a faint burning smell filled the room as the overworked machine gave a tired whine. “ _Those_ were the last ones…”

“Thank the gods,” muttered Angeal, massaging the bridge of his nose. “How’s tech doing tracking online sources?”

“Worse than we are,” said Genesis, sliding down the wall to the floor and resting his head on his knees. “There are about thirty different anti-Shinra sights now hosting the photo and claiming Sephiroth ought to be thrown out and trashed in the streets for treating his underlings like his personal whores.”

“Brilliant,” muttered Angeal, dropping his hand and sighing. “Anyone managed to get ahold of him yet?’

Genesis gave an inelegant snort. “Nope. And the agents sent to his house reported he wasn’t there.”

“Or if he was, he wasn’t answering,” guessed Angeal. “I’m willing to bet they didn’t dare go in the house without his permission.”

“Who the hell knows,” grouched Genesis, stretching out his long legs and dropping his head back against the wall behind him. “I don’t even know why we got roped into this mess. We’ve got cadets to train and all the rest of it. Since when did we become a clean up committee?”

No one answered. It had already been five days since the whole mess between Jaila and Cosmos had taken place, but there was still a hell of a mess to clean up. Public Relations had taken a kick to the balls when the photo had gotten leaked online, and they were just lucky as all get out that the press hadn’t seemed to have gotten hold of it yet. All of the solid copies of the photo had been destroyed, but it had taken over half of Shinra’s top workers and even some lower level SOLDIER recruits to make sure it had been done. As for the internet leak, they’d left tech to deal with that. Even the President was in and out of his office at least thirty times a day handling phone calls and complaints about the photo, or new reports of a leak that needed handling.

Anyone who hadn’t been involved in spreading the photo around was now responsible for cleaning up, and if they had a few men to spare they were often sent to get ahold of Sephiroth. So far, after nearly a week, no one had heard from the General, and he’d only been in to work a couple times with only a few people seeing him. Anytime Genesis and Angeal had tried to get ahold of him, his office was either locked, or empty. Zack wondered vaguely if he was purposefully avoiding them.

Ever since the incident, it seemed like the General had taken all measures to avoid people. More than he already usually did. Sephiroth wasn’t exactly a people person to begin with, but his new attitude would have made a hermit seem social.

“Any news on Lyris or Rielle?” Angeal asked, glancing over at Zack.

Zack had been given most of the job of keeping tabs on the movements outside of Shinra. Angeal and Genesis dealt with the internal.

“Lyris is at home getting shit-faced drunk as usual,” Zack answered, dragging a hand across his face, “And Cosm—I mean…Rielle’s got a job at a bar across town.”

He forgot he wasn’t technically supposed to be on friendly terms with Cosmos. She was supposed to be distanced from this as much as possible, since she’d been directly involved, and he’d been given orders by the higher ups that if it seemed she was going to be a liability he was supposed to report on it so they could relocate her. Apparently they were scared shitless of her tattling on them—or Sephiroth—to the press and stirring up even more drama.

_Fat chance of that_ , he thought with a slight snort. Cosmos wanted to be done with Shinra to the point she’d probably never speak of them again unless she absolutely had to. As for Sephiroth…well…the fact that she’d asked Zack how to block certain numbers—and immediately input the General’s phone number under said blocking system—spoke volumes on how eager she was to be rid of the silver SOLDIER.

 “Anything new on Traven or Haller?” Angeal prompted.

“Traven’s got a new job in Sector 7 and Haller’s a paper boy in a Sector 5,” Zack answered, closing his eyes and dropping his head onto his chest.

“Any trouble with them?”

“Nah. I figure Traven wants to forget it ever happened and Haller’s learned his lesson,” Zack said.

He didn’t add in how Delilah Traven had chopped off all of her hair and dyed it purple. Or that Haller’s coworkers constantly left ratty silver or white-blond wigs in his locker or glued to his delivery bike after one of their part-timers had heard from a friend of a friend of a friend what had gone down in Shinra. If Zack had been less human, he’d probably have felt bad for them, but he was human enough to still be furious at what they’d done to Cosmos and wasn’t feeling as gracious as he might have otherwise. He had a little more pity for Delilah than Haller, but not a huge amount. They’d both known what they were doing, and the repercussions that could come from it.

“So,” sighed Genesis, “If we’re all totally through shredding photos and digging through cyberspace, I could use a drink.”

“I’ll second that,” said Zack, hauling himself up as Genesis clambered to his feet. “Angeal, you coming?”

“Nah,” said Angeal, shaking his head, “I figure I’ll drop in and see if I can’t beat down Sephiroth’s door. It’s been a week and I figure unless they send one of the three of us he won’t answer.”

“True enough,” conceded Zack, hands on hips. “Genesis, you wanna come? We can go for that drink after if you want.”

“Fine,” sighed Genesis with a dramatic flip of his red hair. “But if he doesn’t answer, you owe me two rounds just for going to that place.”

“That place,” scoffed Angeal as they exited the building. “You say it like it’s a slum.”

“It practically is,” said Genesis with a little grimace. “The company gives us all private penthouses uptown, but he lives in that hole in the wall.”

“Sephiroth likes his privacy,” Angeal said as they stepped into the lift and he punched the button for the ground floor. “Besides, the penthouses are huge for one person. He probably gets lonely.”

“Then he should get a goddamned cat,” muttered Genesis as they descended.

They caught the shuttle just as it was leaving the station. Angeal lounged against the center rail of the car while Zack and Genesis squeezed onto a pair of seats by the door. A few people stared at them, but thankfully no one approached. At least Zack was thankful. He was too tired to deal with the public right now. Genesis seemed a little put out, and kept trying to catch the eye of a rather pretty woman sitting across the aisle from him. She, however, was engrossed in conversation with the girl beside her, and after they linked fingers and leaned into each other Genesis gave up and spent the rest of the ride staring out the window.

Halfway to their stop, Zack felt his phone vibrate, and dug it out of his pocket to check the ID. Marcello.

“Hey,” he answered, trying to inject some energy into his voice.

“Long day?” the man asked.

He sighed. “How could you tell?” Zack asked, grimacing.

“You’re slurring,” Marcello admitted with amusement. “I can call later.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Zack said, “I’m just leaving the office. Some of the guys and I are sort of wrapping things up and decided to go for a drink.”

“No better way to end the day,” said Marcello. “Especially after the day I bet you all have been having.”

“No kidding,” Zack muttered, reclining in his seat as the train rattled along. “So what’s up?”

“I was actually calling for Alstro,” Marcello admitted, “I think she’s paranoid about Sephiroth still... I was wondering if you’d talked to him lately.”

“Nah,” said Zack, frowning. “He’s been in to work a couple times, but I haven’t seen him since the day Cosmos bailed. He’s kind of been avoiding everyone.”

“Hmm…” Marcello sounded thoughtful. “Has anyone else gotten to talk to him?”

“No,” admitted Zack.

He shouldn’t be surprised, he guessed, that Alstro was more worried about Sephiroth now than Cosmos. Or maybe Cosmos was just better at hiding her anxiety now. Since he’d given her the new phone and she’d blocked Sephiroth’s number on the cell and house phone, she seemed to be much more comfortable. Alstro, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten into the habit of double checking messages when she got home, and she never let Cosmos go out alone these days. He’d even heard she was trying to talk the girl into moving into her place across town. The story was that it would be easier for them to get to and from the bar from there, but he figured there was ulterior motive as well… Not that he could blame Alstro. If it were him in her position, he wouldn’t have waited for Cosmos’s permission to move out of town.

“Zack?” Marcello’s voice intruded on his thoughts and he started.

“Sorry,” he apologized, “I zoned out for a second. What?”

“Well, I was saying that maybe you should get ahold of Sephiroth,” Marcello said, sounding close to laughter, “But I think maybe a nap is in order first.”

“I’m fine,” Zack said at once, stifling a yawn.

“Uh-huh,” said Marcello, sounding disbelieving.

“We’re actually on our way to Sephiroth’s right now, matter of fact,” he inserted, hoping to veer off the subject of exhaustion.

“Good,” Marcello said. “Honestly, in spite of what happened, I’m worried.”

“Why?” Zack frowned.

“It’s not good to be alone, Zack,” Marcello said, all of a sudden somber, “No matter who you are.”

Zack was quiet for a moment. He hadn’t really thought about it like that. He’d been so focused on cleaning up Jaila’s mess and making sure everything else was settled that he hadn’t really considered what was going on with Sephiroth. Crazy as it seemed to think it, maybe this whole thing had bothered the General way more than he’d first let on. Zack knew he’d be a little more than embarrassed if a photo like that came out about him. Even if it wasn’t actually him.

Or maybe Sephiroth was avoiding contact with people so they didn’t have to make up excuses for him to the press or other people outside Shinra. It’d be far easier just to say they hadn’t seen or spoken to him than to have to come up with stories about why Sephiroth hadn’t gotten called out into the public eye. You couldn’t exactly call out someone on the news if they wouldn’t even leave their house.

“Well, I’ll let you get going,” Marcello said, “I just wanted to see if there was any news.”

“Nothing new to report,” he said, “But I’ll keep you posted.”

“Alright. Talk to you later, then,” he said.

“Yeah, later,” Zack agreed.

He hung up and pocketed his phone as the train slowed and stopped, and a speaker crackled to life overhead to announce their destination.

The street they exited onto from the platform was swarming with people. Zack almost grabbed onto Angeal’s arm just to keep track of him in the crowd as they were nearly steamrollered by a mass of pedestrians crossing the street.

“I hate this place,” muttered Genesis irritably, glaring around him at the torrent of people. “You can barely breathe for all the people here.”

“How does anyone expect to get any privacy here,” complained Zack as he followed hot on Angeal’s heels down the street. “There’s too many damned people.”

“Then think of how easy it is to blend in when you want to,” Angeal said over his shoulder, muscling his way through the crowd. “Sephiroth gets privacy because no one here has enough time to stop and ask about him.”

Fair point, thought Zack, but he was still not at all sold on the idea of this type of living. Given Sephiroth’s dislike of large crowds, he found it hard to believe the General actually enjoyed living here. He’d probably have lost his mind by now just dealing with them all every day.

“Let’s hurry up and get there and get gone,” groused Genesis, pushing his way along beside Angeal, though with his brilliant red hair and coat he was easily scattering the crowd with ease as heads turned to ogle him. “I’m already feeling claustrophobic.”

“Take deep breaths and think happy thoughts,” suggested Angeal with a slight grin.

Genesis turned to give his companion a disgruntled look, which went totally ignored.

They all made their precarious way down the street, trying to squeeze through tight groups of people, and avoiding the haphazard drivers veering down the street from all directions. More than once, they got held up by a swarm or females rushing over after recognizing Genesis, or an old veteran of some war or other stopping them to thank them for their service. But, mostly, it was members of some anti-Shinra group coming to get in their face about their political beliefs.

“I saw the photo!” one particularly aggressive man shouted at them from across the street. “Serve and protect, huh?! You’re serving and protecting your own asses!”

“Have a nice day, sir,” Angeal called back to the man, waving a hand.

“Rapists! Murderers!” the heckler bellowed after them.

“If that’s what Sephiroth has to go through every time he walks out the door, I’m not all that surprised no one’s seen him in a week,” muttered Zack, keeping his eyes forward as he walked purposefully away from the man.

“Well, when I see him, I’m kicking his ass for being such a damn wimp,” Genesis grouched.

It took them another fifteen minutes struggling through crowds and hecklers before they reached a quiet side street, slightly separate from the rest of the hustle and bustle, and walked along it to reach a mostly deserted street, with a line of sleek looking, detached apartments sat nearly wall to wall with each other. Most of the apartment windows sat open, or at least with sheer curtains to let in the sunlight, but one of the apartments near the very end had all the windows closed, and—Angeal and Genesis knew—trip-wired, camera-fitted, bullet-proofed, and with black-out curtains drawn.

“Home sweet bunker,” snorted Genesis.

“Watch the second step,” Angeal sighed as they stepped towards the front porch.

Zack glanced down as he carefully skipped the second step, and spied the faint glimmer of a laser grid covering the entire surface of the marble step.

“Paranoid little bastard,” sighed Genesis as he also skipped the step.

Angeal shrugged, catching the redhead’s arm to pull him up to the porch, then turned and hammered his fist on the door.

“Sephiroth,” he called, then dropped another round of knocks. “Come on. You’ve been holed up for days. Open up.”

Nothing.

“Oh, for gods’ sakes,” muttered Genesis, digging his phone out of his pocket and jabbing one of the buttons. He held the phone just a few inches from his ear, listening to it ring.

There was a pause, and then a dull ringing sounded inside the house.

“Knew it,” Genesis said tersely, lowering his phone and leaning forward to hammer the door with a fist. “Open up, you pain in the ass!”

There was a long pause, then the ringing phone shut off as it was hung up. A few seconds later, there was a dull snap from behind the door, and it opened partway.

Sephiroth leaned into view. Shirtless, his eyes blurred with sleep with his hair hanging into his face as he peered groggily out at them.

“What?” he asked, pushing his hair back with a hand.

“Where the hell have you been?” demanded Genesis.

“Sleeping,” replied the General, raising an eyebrow. “Why? Did someone die while I was away?”

“Don’t you wish,” snorted Angeal. “You’ve been gone for a week, Sephiroth. We were getting worried.”

“The President suggested I should distance myself from the situation,” Sephiroth answered, giving a lame shrug.

“So you left work?” Genesis asked shrewdly.

“I brought work home,” said Sephiroth, leaning back a little so they could see into the apartment. The living room was visible from their position on the porch, and it was a total wreck. Papers covered every available flat surface, except one armchair where Sephiroth was apparently sitting.

“Oy,” muttered Genesis, rolling his eyes.

“We’re all going for a drink,” Angeal said, “You should come with.”

“What’s the occasion?” Sephiroth asked.

“We finally finished cleaning up your mess,” Genesis sniped.

Angeal elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“We finally finished rounding up the photos in the office and we’re celebrating the freedom,” he said, shooting a pointed look at Genesis.

“Hm.” Sephiroth didn’t sound either impressed or interested.

“Come on, Seph,” Angeal urged, frowning. “You’ve been holed up in here for a week.”

“You say it like it’s a problem,” Sephiroth said, raising an eyebrow.

“It _is_ ,” said Angeal, sighing. “Put a shirt on and let’s go.”

Sephiroth gave a sigh of his own, then closed his eyes, looking slightly pained.

“Ten minutes,” he said.

“For you to get ready?” Zack asked.

“No. That’s how long I’ll stay out with you,” Sephiroth replied, starting to retreat back inside.

“You won’t even make it down the block by then,” Genesis complained.

“I never said I was in the mood to go out,” Sephiroth pointed out, and shut the door.

“Right little ray of sunshine, isn’t he?” snorted Genesis, hands on hips.

Angeal shrugged, looking resigned. “If he’ll give us ten minutes, that’s good enough for me, but he needs to get out of the house. He’s sulked for a week. I think he’s had plenty of time to be in a bad mood.”

That was arguable, thought Zack, leaning back against the banister. Ten minutes? That wasn’t just Sephiroth in a bad mood. That was Sephiroth being downright depressed. He’d usually humor them at least half an hour, even on his worst day. Apparently ‘distancing himself’ hadn’t worked out for Sephiroth as well as the President may have hoped…

“So,” said Angeal, blowing out a sigh, “What bars are good around here?”


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm updating a few days early since I'll be out of town on the 25th with no guarantee of wi-fi. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Cosmos was sure this had been the slowest day at the bar since she'd started working there. She'd already wiped down every table three times, cleaned up the bar six times, and swept and mopped the floors until it acted more like a mirror than the floor, and Raz had started joking if she made it any cleaner, he'd able to see clear up her skirt without her even having to bend over.

"Let's have a little mystery, at least," he teased, winking at her from across the bar.

She nudged him in the side with the end of the broom, and he snickered before wandering off to count their stock for the fifth time that day.

Since starting work at the bar, Raz had become Cosmos's next best friend after Alstro. She'd even gotten into the habit of coming in during her days off, or he during his, just to chat and poke fun at each other. Alstro was constantly splitting them up and nagging them to get back to work.

"If all you're going to do is make eyes at each other, clock out and get lost," she joked, though she always gave Cosmos a very deliberate look, as though hoping her friend might take her at her word and drag Raz to the hotel across the street.

Cosmos had to admit, she might be developing a thing for Raz. She might have been totally convinced of it by now, except the bar owner, and her new boss—Nero—happened to be just as charming as Raz; maybe even more so. They'd only worked a couple of shifts together, but Cosmos could never stop laughing anytime Nero was working the same time as her. He was even more of a comic than Raz when it came to manning the bar, and she could easily see—after a few nights watching the bar owner juggling bottles of vodka and schnapps—where Raz got his flair for performance from.

Ironically, having guessed that today would be among the busiest for the bar, given it was the weekend,  _everyone_ had gotten called into work. Yas and Alstro were currently playing Old Maid in one of the booths. Nero was lounging by the jukebox comparing which records could be switched out for more popular ones for the patrons to listen to, and Cosmos was perched on a barstool leaning on the handle of her broom.

Aside from a pair of middle aged ladies who had come in two hours earlier for a round of sherry and a good bit of gossip, the bar was totally empty, and everything from the cleaning to the stock count to the payroll had been taken care of at least a dozen times over.

"If we don't get more customers in the next half hour, I'm sending the pair of you home," Nero announced as he sidled back over to the bar with a collection of to-be-retired records under his arm. He set them on the polished counter, and slid onto the barstool beside Cosmos, draping an arm across the counter behind her. "No sense in keeping all of you here if we're not getting any flow."

"But you know," Cosmos said, half smiling, "The minute we leave you're going to be up to your necktie in customers. Then what?"

"Then you get your ass back here and work," he said, smirking at her, lifting a dark eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes and he chuckled, then pulled the records onto his lap to look through them a final time. Cosmos took the opportunity to do as she usually did, and looked Nero over.

She'd been surprised when she met him the first time after she'd started working. She had been envisioning a man at least 10 years older than her, possibly with graying hair, but a nice personality. What she'd gotten was a smart aleck 29-year-old with hair so black it looked like an oil slick, with one silvery streak painted across his bangs in a lightning strike. His eyes were strikingly blue, and his mouth was always curved in a perpetual, boyish smile. It was no wonder he got more ladies than Raz when he was barkeeping. So far, she, Alstro, and Yas had counted at least thirteen female patrons that had come in specifically to ask him out. Raz had eight, and two gentlemen.

"You're doing it again," Nero sang lightly, not looking up from his records, but his lips curved even deeper into his roguish smile.

"Doing what?" she asked with a start, fumbling with the broom as she sat up a little straighter on her stool.

Nero took his time placing the records back on the bar and turning to look at her, both eyebrows raised high as he gave her a knowing look. "Cos," he said, half teasing, half serious. "You know my rules."

Ah, yes, she thought with a heavy sigh. Nero's Rules.

Rule Number One: Nero is in charge. Always. Unless it's his day off, and then Raz is in charge.

Rule Number Two: No drinking while on duty.

Rule Number Three: No dating  _the boss_ _._

Dating coworkers was apparently fine, so long as it stayed out of the workplace, or at least kept to a PG level during work hours. But no one was allowed to date the boss. Nero had had enough mishaps with previous coworkers to know better than to allow that anymore. According to what Raz had told her the first few shifts she'd worked, one of Nero's previous girlfriends/bargirls had been adding a little extra to her paycheck every month as a maintenance fee for having to handle Nero both during and outside of work. Another relationship had turned sour when Nero had walked in on his fiancée with one of the part-timers in his office putting in some extra hours off the clock.

From then on, dating the boss was a strict no-no. Which was why there had been a couple instances in the past where Nero had ended up firing one of the workers to okay the relationship—or they quit. After making sure they'd found another means of support, of course.

"You know my rules," Nero repeated, leaning back on the bar and giving her an almost sympathetic look, "And we both know how important this job is to you."

She nodded, understanding, and gave him a grateful smile. Nero had not only been a riot to work with, he'd also been the most understanding when she and Alstro had sat him down to discuss the issues behind her old job and why she couldn't exactly give him any references on her application. He'd made her fully aware of the fact that so long as she worked for him she'd be taken care of. Whether that meant help relocating closer to the bar for safety's sake, or even a place to lay low in case something ugly from the past came knocking.

So far, nothing had happened that made her think Shinra was in any way prepared to come running her out of town for anything, and she hadn't gotten anymore phone calls outside of those from Alstro and the bar when she had to work, and she liked it that way. She only wished she could convince herself it would stay that way. Every now and then she had lingering doubts, and more than once this past week she'd woken up in the middle of the night to check her phone and the answering machine; convinced there would be a message waiting for her…

She sighed, leaning on the broom handle again and closing her eyes.

"Aw, now," said Nero playfully, reaching over to ruffle her hair, "Don't look so depressed. I'm actually a horrible boyfriend. I never take out the trash, I take up half the bed, I hate cats, and I snore. Loudly."

Cosmos snorted a laugh. That was all total bullshit for her benefit. Nero was a neat freak, owned three cats, and—from the times he'd slept at the bar during really busy days when he couldn't make it home for his break—was as quiet as a mouse and slept curled in the fetal position under his desk in the back office.

"Thanks, boss," she said, rolling her eyes and smirking.

He grinned, ruffled her hair again, then slid off the barstool to carry the records off to his office.

Cosmos went back to leaning on her broom, looking thoughtfully around the empty bar. The ladies from earlier were gathering their purses to leave, pausing only to toss a couple of bills onto the table and waving to Alstro and Yas before heading out. Raz sauntered by to clear the glasses from the table and pluck up the bills, then returned behind the bar.

Cosmos closed her eyes, trying not to think. She didn't like slow times in the bar. They left her too much time to think on things she'd rather avoid. It had already been a week since she'd resigned from Shinra. A week since her last phone call from Sephiroth. A week since everything had happened, but for some reason today she just couldn't shake the feeling something was going to blow up in her face. She had no reason to think so, but she couldn't get it out of her head. Though the sun was shining outside and the day so far had been peaceful and fun, there was a looming darkness in the back of her mind that was steadily growing with every second she couldn't distract herself by cleaning or doing something useful.

She almost wished Nero  _would_ send her home. At least at home she could zone out in front of the TV and not think about anything…

"Penny for your thoughts, love?" asked a voice, and she turned her head to look at Raz as he leaned on the bar behind her, smiling warmly.

"The scary thing is I'm trying not think at all," she admitted, half smiling.

Raz tsked her and shook his head. "You're avoiding the thing again," he chastised her, brandishing a finger.

_The thing_ being anything to do with Shinra. Raz used it as an all encompassing term, and also because he'd noticed if he mentioned Shinra's name directly Cosmos tended to get this faraway look and didn't really seem to pay attention to what he said.

"I can avoid the thing if I want," she said staunchly, turning her nose up.

"You can," he agreed, sliding around the bar and plopping down onto the seat Nero had vacated, "But it's not healthy, my dear."

She stuck her tongue out at him. He snickered, then turned a serious gaze on her.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked, gently clapping her on the shoulder.

"Not sure what there is to talk about," she admitted with a lame shrug, half smiling at him. "I just…I don't know…I've got a bad feeling about today."

Raz frowned, lightly squeezing her shoulder. "And you think it's got something to do with the thing?"

She nodded, gazing absently across the room again towards where Yas was throwing down her cards and doing a little victory dance in the booth while Alstro threw her cards in the air and slumped back in defeat.

"You know we've got your back," Raz assured her softly. "If anything happens, we'll help take care of it."

Then he added with a devilish smile, "And I make a mean Malotov Cocktail.” He winked.

She smirked and nudged him playfully in the ribs and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to give her a firm squeeze.

There was a light jingle as the door to the bar suddenly swung open, and Raz immediately dropped his arm, throwing a dazzling smile towards the newcomers.

"Come on in, gentlemen," he called as a group of four men stepped through the door. "What's your pleasure?"

Cosmos got to her feet as Raz did, deciding that sitting lamely at the bar didn't reflect well on their customer service, and had just turned to take the broom and dustpan back to storage closet when a startled voice made her stop.

"Cosmos?"

She turned, eyes wide, to see Zack standing halfway towards the bar, his jaw slightly agape.

"Zack," she said, staring back at him.

She registered the alarm in his eyes at the same instant a flicker of silver caught her attention, and by the time she'd begun to notice the sinking in the pit of her stomach, and the alarm bells going off in her head, she was already looking Sephiroth dead in the face as he stepped out from behind Genesis and Angeal; his cat-like turquoise eyes locked on to her.

The world seemed to slow, and then stop altogether, and there was a moment that seemed to last a few days where she merely stared at Sephiroth, every carefully compacted and sealed memory from a week ago beginning to resurface with frightening clarity, and then the dam in her mind burst, and everything was moving in fast forward. Zack was speaking rapidly, but his words were garbled, and she was vaguely aware of Alstro and Yas getting up from the booth and coming towards her. She felt a hand grip her upper arm in a vice-like hold, and then Raz was in front of her, shooing her casually towards the storage closet.

"And go ahead and mop the employee lounge, would you, love?" he was saying when she finally came back to herself, his chest obscuring her view of Sephiroth as he slid easily between them.

She glanced up at him, her heart somewhere between her stomach and her throat, and when their eyes met she saw the hard set of his jaw and the cold look in his eyes, even as he managed a playful smile and began to turn back towards Zack and the others; hip-checking her straight into Alstro.

"Let's go," Alstro whispered in her ear, half-leading, half-dragging Cosmos towards the back, " _Now_."

Yas was there before Cosmos could fully process what was happening, easily slipping the broom and dustpan out of her hands.

"Is that the guy?" Yas managed to utter to Alstro as they all headed for the back room.

Alstro glanced over her shoulder to make sure they were out of sight, then nodded tensely.

"Guys, let go," Cosmos said abruptly, digging in her heels to bring herself to a halt as Yas attempted to link arms with her to pull her further along the hall.

Alstro and Yas stopped, but didn't let go of her, and instead faced her with confused expressions.

"I'm fine," she said, though her voice was a little hollow, "Really. Let go. This is ridiculous."

"You're white as a sheet and you're shaking like crazy," Yas contradicted her quietly, glancing down at Cosmos's hands, which were trembling uncontrollably.

"I'm fine," Cosmos repeated, a little more firmly, and pulled her hands free of the other two. "Really, I—"

"What's going on?"

Nero had appeared, poking his head out from his office after overhearing them. He took one look at Cosmos's white face and Alstro's tense expression and came out to stand in front of them, his eyes narrowing slightly as he glanced between the three of them.

"Cosmos?" he asked gently.

"It's fine," she said immediately.

"What's going on?" he prompted, putting a hand on her arm, either not noticing or pretending not to notice how badly she was shaking.

" _That guy_ is here," Alstro said tersely.

Nero's expression hardened. "Where's Raz?"

"Serving drinks," Yas reported quietly, glancing over her shoulder. "I think he saw her, though. The guy… They all saw her."

"All?" Nero asked in a tight voice.

"Guys, just stop," said Cosmos sternly, surprising even herself.

When everyone turned to look at her, she took a deep breath to try and calm herself, balled her hands into fists to lessen the trembling, and said slowly, "He came here to drink with his friends. He's a customer. I work here. I'm an employee. We're both doing what we're supposed to do. It's fine."

Alstro didn't look at all convinced by this argument, and Yas and Nero looked uncertain.

"I don't even have to be near the bar," Cosmos went on, looking directly at Nero, because she knew it was him she had to convince more than anyone, "I'll clean the employee lounge, like Raz suggested, then clean whatever else needs cleaning. I'm just doing my job. He's just getting a drink. This doesn't need to be such a big deal."

Nero gazed at her for a long moment, his blue eyes dark with thought, then he took a slow, deep breath, and put his hands on his hips.

"Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

She nodded.

"Alright then," he said, nodding slowly. "Then get to work. Yas, Alstro, I'm having the two of you clock off."

"No!" the objection came from Alstro. "Nero, she can't just be alone with him.  _Please_."

"Alstro," Nero met her gaze firmly, "I don't have enough customers to justify keeping you and Yas here. Cosmos says she's okay to work. I'm trusting her on that. If it starts being obvious that she's _not_ okay, then I'll change things. If you want to stay here, that's fine. But you're clocking off and you're staying in the employee lounge until Cosmos gets finished working her shift. Got me?"

Alstro looked mutinous, but after a long glaring contest with Nero—that she lost—she heaved a sigh and nodded in defeat. She glanced at Cosmos, who was still pale and shaking slightly, and her frown deepened.

"Cos," she said quietly, and when her friend looked at her she narrowed her eyes, "If  _anything_ happens…"

Cosmos managed a weary smile. "Go take a break, Al," she said, "I've got this. Besides, from what I hear, Raz makes a killer Molotov Cocktail."

The joke worked a little. Alstro gave a reluctant half-smile, then sighed and shook her head.

" _Anything_ happens, Cos," she said severely, jabbing a finger at her friend.

"Yes, momma," Cosmos teased.

Alstro nodded a final time, hesitated, then turned and walked with Yas towards Nero's office to clock off. Nero remained in the hallway with Cosmos, still seeming uncertain.

"I'll walk out with you," he said softly.

"I'm going to clean," Cosmos said, glancing up at him, "What's your excuse?"

He half smirked, rolling his eyes. "We don't have enough vodka behind the counter for one of Raz's killer cocktails," he replied, and swept an arm around her shoulders before marching them back out towards the main bar.

Cosmos felt her heart rate increasing with every step they took, knowing that each step was bringing her that much closer to facing Sephiroth again, and for a split second before they turned the corner she thought her heart might stop altogether. But then they were around the corner, her eyes went straight to the bar, and Sephiroth wasn't even looking at her.

Raz was putting on the show of the evening behind the bar. One hand was twirling a thin bottle with ease. The other was balancing three glasses on his outspread fingers, each with an olive already placed neatly in the bottom.

"Bravo," Zack said appreciatively, applauding slightly as Raz rolled the bottle down his arm and neatly tipped it to pour the contents into each of the glasses.

"See," said a familiar, haughty voice, and Cosmos recognized Genesis as the redheaded SOLDIER elbowed Sephiroth hard in the side. "I told you this place was good. My dates love it here."

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere," Raz said as he slid the three glasses towards Zack, Angeal, and Genesis, "Didn't you bring that lovely little blonde in the navy blue pantsuit last week?"

"I did," Genesis agreed, looking impressed as he took his drink. "How'd you remember that?"

"She was a heavy tipper," said Raz with a sly smile, deliberately plucking at his unbuttoned shirt.

"What do I keep telling you about stealing customer's dates?" Nero asked, releasing Cosmos to stride behind the bar and thumping Raz on the back of the head.

"I did not steal a thing," Raz denied with a haughty sniff, "I merely borrowed her attention for a few minutes while the good gentleman was in the bathroom."

"Uh-huh," said Nero with a smirk. "By the way, I came to tell you if you make Cosmos clean the lounge one more time, I'm going to be able to swim in it. I can already see my reflection in high definition. The thing looks like a goddamn skating rink."

"She was slacking," Raz said with a lame shrug, "Put her to work, I say."

"You want to put her to work, I'll put her back here with a switch to keep you in line," Nero threatened.

"You wouldn't," Raz said, aghast, putting a hand dramatically to his chest.

"I would," Nero promised.

"But I'm not into that kind of thing," Raz said, glancing at Cosmos and winking. "No offense, sweetheart."

Zack snorted into his drink and Angeal and Genesis cracked up in laughter.

Cosmos almost managed a smile, but something made her stop and glance almost instinctively at Sephiroth. He'd been looking at Raz when she'd walked in, but he wasn't anymore. He wasn't even cracking a smile at the man's joke. He was staring straight at her, his eyes unfathomable, and she felt that familiar simultaneous sinking and dissolving sensation in the pit of her stomach. Her mouth went dry, and her heart gave an unsteady jolt.

A memory flashed in her mind's eye. His face coming closer to hers, his hands settling on her waist...panic... Her heart was racing so fast she could barely breathe, and all she could see were those two turquoise eyes staring back at her, seeming to float in a haze of ivory skin and silver hair.

She jerked back to reality as Nero called her name, and she had to focus rapidly to hear what he was saying, wrenching her gaze from Sephiroth's face and looking frantically at her boss instead.

"Sorry," she said numbly, blinking rapidly at him. "What?"

She missed Genesis's slight smirk and the pointed look he shot Sephiroth.

"Why don't you go ahead and clock off, too?" Nero suggested, meeting her gaze steadily from across the bar. "Raz and I can handle the rest of the day, I think."

Raz nodded his agreement, keeping his usual, coy smile in place, even as she saw his eyes darken a shade and there was obvious tension in the way he leaned slightly forward, as though ready to hurdle the bar to put himself between her and Sephiroth again if need be.

She nodded absently, slowly forcing her heart rate to go down, then began to make her way back the way she and he had just come. She didn't need to ask why Nero suddenly changed his mind about her staying… Quite obviously, she was  _not_ okay.

 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Across the Cosmos (Original)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12856554) by [Wrath66](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrath66/pseuds/Wrath66)




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